About
“If I were asked to describe this album in one word I would call it an ‘Awakening’; an awakening to ourselves, to our music and to the world around us.” – Darren Cordeux
Hallelujah, praise be to whomever, Kisschasy have delivered Hymns For The Nonbeliever!
The follow-up to 2005’s smash hit debut, United Paper People, Hymns For The Nonbeliever introduces a fresh Kisschasy sound - more confronting, more relentless, more rockin’, more irresistible than ever. After an emotionally fraught final six months touring on United Paper People (see 2006’s Kisschasy: The Movie DVD), the Mornington foursome have reunited to produce the most solid album you will hear in 2007. From start to finish, it doesn’t relent.
From the budding pop songwriter of a few years ago, front man Darren Cordeux has blossomed into a powerhouse song smith, while Kisschasy have consolidated into a special unit. Recorded throughout 2006 at Grove Studios, set on 25 acres of bushland around an hour north of Sydney, Hymns For The Nonbeliever captures the magic of a band approaching the summit of their powers on album number two – think Pinkerton, think Through Being Cool, think Nevermind!
With production handled by Englishman Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, The Pixies, Radiohead, etc.) and mastering applied by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, The Ramones, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, etc.), Hymns For The Nonbeliever delivers this bold pop statement with World Class clarity. The first two singles, “Opinions Won't Keep You Warm At Night” and “Spray On Pants”, were tweaked at the mixing stage by Jerry Finn (Green Day, Blink 182, AFI), adding yet another illustrious name to the credits, as well as a radio sheen to the tracks than will no doubt aid Kisschasy’s commercial appeal both in Australia and abroad
Everything sounds more alive, the songs more engaging, the lyrics more intriguing. At a time when “reality” is being altered and edited and fed back to the public as truth, Darren Cordeux creates these amazing epic worlds within each song; whole universes to get lost in. He reflects back his real life experiences via a mix of sarcasm and double-entendre using astonishing wordplay to conjure complex imagery in simple language. Then he puts it to the kind of melody you’ll be humming for a month.
But while the songs on Hymns For The Nonbeliever are testament to the powerful pop vision of Cordeux, the band itself sounds better, stronger, more unified. Guitarist Sean Thomas is Cordeux’s song writing twin, finishing his musical sentences for him with perfect guitar parts, and even busting a wicked solo on album opener “The Perfect Way To Meet.” Bassist Joel Vanderuit lays down a driving foundation, serving the songs in tasteful fashion, but never his own ego. While hard-hitting drummer Karl Ammitzboll is flashy to the point of writing the kind of fills you just want to play air drums to.
Together Kisschasy have created an album strong enough to carry the emotional weight Cordeux has burned these 12 songs with. Far from being a brainless pop album full of empty, pointless love songs, Hymns For The Nonbeliever finds Cordeux confronting facets of his life both past and present. With only a single solitary song about relationships (“Real And Untouched”), the album veers from reflections on life as a musician and songwriter (“Strings And Drums” and “Spray On Pants”), to conservation and animal liberation (“Factory” and “Dissolution”), to the emptiness of religious dogma (“Tiny Plastic Cup” and “My Bible Is A Scrapbook"), to being so alienated from your own band mates you’re ready to throw away everything you’d work so hard to achieve (“To Death”).
Far from being your average pop record, Hymns For The Nonbeliever sings from the highest heavens: Kisschasy have risen!
Amen.
Hallelujah, praise be to whomever, Kisschasy have delivered Hymns For The Nonbeliever!
The follow-up to 2005’s smash hit debut, United Paper People, Hymns For The Nonbeliever introduces a fresh Kisschasy sound - more confronting, more relentless, more rockin’, more irresistible than ever. After an emotionally fraught final six months touring on United Paper People (see 2006’s Kisschasy: The Movie DVD), the Mornington foursome have reunited to produce the most solid album you will hear in 2007. From start to finish, it doesn’t relent.
From the budding pop songwriter of a few years ago, front man Darren Cordeux has blossomed into a powerhouse song smith, while Kisschasy have consolidated into a special unit. Recorded throughout 2006 at Grove Studios, set on 25 acres of bushland around an hour north of Sydney, Hymns For The Nonbeliever captures the magic of a band approaching the summit of their powers on album number two – think Pinkerton, think Through Being Cool, think Nevermind!
With production handled by Englishman Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, The Pixies, Radiohead, etc.) and mastering applied by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, The Ramones, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, etc.), Hymns For The Nonbeliever delivers this bold pop statement with World Class clarity. The first two singles, “Opinions Won't Keep You Warm At Night” and “Spray On Pants”, were tweaked at the mixing stage by Jerry Finn (Green Day, Blink 182, AFI), adding yet another illustrious name to the credits, as well as a radio sheen to the tracks than will no doubt aid Kisschasy’s commercial appeal both in Australia and abroad
Everything sounds more alive, the songs more engaging, the lyrics more intriguing. At a time when “reality” is being altered and edited and fed back to the public as truth, Darren Cordeux creates these amazing epic worlds within each song; whole universes to get lost in. He reflects back his real life experiences via a mix of sarcasm and double-entendre using astonishing wordplay to conjure complex imagery in simple language. Then he puts it to the kind of melody you’ll be humming for a month.
But while the songs on Hymns For The Nonbeliever are testament to the powerful pop vision of Cordeux, the band itself sounds better, stronger, more unified. Guitarist Sean Thomas is Cordeux’s song writing twin, finishing his musical sentences for him with perfect guitar parts, and even busting a wicked solo on album opener “The Perfect Way To Meet.” Bassist Joel Vanderuit lays down a driving foundation, serving the songs in tasteful fashion, but never his own ego. While hard-hitting drummer Karl Ammitzboll is flashy to the point of writing the kind of fills you just want to play air drums to.
Together Kisschasy have created an album strong enough to carry the emotional weight Cordeux has burned these 12 songs with. Far from being a brainless pop album full of empty, pointless love songs, Hymns For The Nonbeliever finds Cordeux confronting facets of his life both past and present. With only a single solitary song about relationships (“Real And Untouched”), the album veers from reflections on life as a musician and songwriter (“Strings And Drums” and “Spray On Pants”), to conservation and animal liberation (“Factory” and “Dissolution”), to the emptiness of religious dogma (“Tiny Plastic Cup” and “My Bible Is A Scrapbook"), to being so alienated from your own band mates you’re ready to throw away everything you’d work so hard to achieve (“To Death”).
Far from being your average pop record, Hymns For The Nonbeliever sings from the highest heavens: Kisschasy have risen!
Amen.
