When Kisschasy split in 2015, many believed — including the band — that they were gone for good.
Having previously said that the decision to split was about integrity and wanting to “protect what we’d built,” it was hard to argue that the Melbourne-formed group should return.
But here we are in September 2025 and Kisschasy are back on ground at Australia’s biggest music industry conference, BIGSOUND, exploring opportunities and people to work with as they gear up to release brand new music.
Speaking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ at the conference in Fortitude Valley, frontman Darren Cordeux and bassist Joel Vanderuit revealed that their special reunion at Good Things Festival in 2022, which was only intended to be a one-off, sparked a new era for Kisschasy.
“I think when we got into that rehearsal room for Good Things, for me personally, it wasn’t until then that I realised that it was a big void in my life,” Cordeux says.
“I’d played with different musicians and different bands and stuff like that in LA where I’ve been living… we’d set aside a few days to rehearse, and we just ripped through the set. It was seven years we hadn’t played together and I was like ‘Holy shit, it’s still all there and and kind of better than ever’. It was almost like there was this new energy to it. We were reinvigorated.”
The response to their Good Things set was better than expected, and naturally, offers for a national tour followed. The reception from fans was even bigger.
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But Kisschasy’s promise to not return unless they could match the music that put them on the map, which included ARIA nominations, Gold certified albums and chart hits, was still in place. They have no interest in being a nostalgia act.
“That’s why when we’ve done these tours, we haven’t done these package nostalgia tours where we’re like, ‘Oh, let’s just get a bunch of bands that we used to play with,'” Cordeux explains.
“That’s why I am excited that we’re doing new music that is, to me, as vital as anything we were doing back then.”
So, with more new music and a long-awaited fourth album on the way, is it safe to say Kisschasy are back?
“We’re back, we just have day jobs now and families,” Vanderuit laughs.
“But it feels really good being together as this unit again. I think the time apart was really helpful and then the time we’ve had back together, I’m more grateful of it, I think.
Cordeux adds: “It’s funny, sometimes you need to be away from something to realise what you’re missing, and I think that was definitely the case with Kisschasy.”
But don’t expect to see them on every festival bill and constantly touring Australia and “every pub on the corner.” Kisschasy are back on their own terms, and as long as it’s sincere and intentional, they’re not going anywhere.
“We do all have a lot of other commitments,” Vanderuit says. “A couple of [the] guys have got multiple children, own a business, Daz lives in another country. So, everything we do has to be worth it and what we want out of it. It’s pretty tricky for Daz to just pick up his life and come over here for a week for some press or something, so we’ve got to make sure that everything we want to do is talked about and agreed upon.
As for what’s next, it’s what Kisschasy fans have been waiting for since they wrapped up in 2015 — a new album is on the way.
Here’s what we know: 10 new songs have been recorded in Melbourne and the hope is to release the record sometime in the summer, possibly February. And yes, after all this time, they say the new songs are as good as any Kisschasy album.
“We’ve got a couple more singles to come out and then we’re working on fine tuning things like artwork and like that,” Cordeux reveals.
“Again, being [at BIGSOUND] is part of that process, but that is the kind of vague nebulous date that we’ve got in mind.”
