Kisschasy has always been self-aware, spiking emo-tinged rock and pop punk with knowing gestures. For starters, the Melbourne quartet hinted at their songs’ romantic yearning by naming themselves after a playground game centered on pursuing one’s elusive crush. Their 2005 single “Do-Do’s & Woah-Oh’s” called out its own radio-friendly elements—including those titular vocal harmonies—in the lyrics, earning the band an ARIA nomination for Breakthrough Artist. Singer, guitarist, and lyricist Darren Cordeux went a step further on 2007’s chiming “Spray on Pants,” a pointed takedown of people who reinvent their personal style to keep up with trends. That track and the similarly anti-group-think anthem “Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm at Night” helped propel the band’s second album, Hymns for the Non-Believer, to gold sales in Australia. And while 2009’s “Turnaround” hit back at the unscrupulous music industry—“You got the gold/From selling our souls”—the following year’s acoustic ballad “Dinosaur” issued an earnest declaration of love across an ocean. That became Kisschasy’s final missive for some time, since the band dissolved in 2015 and stayed that way for a decade. However, on 2025’s surprise return “Lie to Me,” they fell right back into a perfect balance of hooks and heft.