An in-depth look at the rise of enigmatic Australian rock band TISM, the unexpected success of their 1995 album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, and the continued trajectory of their storied career.

Focusing on one of Australian music's most enigmatic bands, Tyler Jenke forms an in-depth analysis at the rise of anonymous, pseudonymous Melbourne collective This Is Serious Mum (better known as TISM), as they become one of the country's most unexpected groups to reach the popular music charts with their third album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons. Throughout the volume, Jenke discusses the origins of TISM as they slowly go from a bedroom concept to an underground success, and further to become a staple of concert stages and commercial radio in Australia. Jenke focuses on the steps that resulted in TISM shifting their sound from their tried-and-true pub-rock and avant-garde roots, to flirting with the world of electronic music, and receiving both top ten success and an ARIA Award. Alongside an analysis of the band's brush with commercial success, Jenke also looks into the group's use of Dadaism and both avant-garde and classic pop musicianship in their work, dissecting the aspects of their rise to fame within the Australian music industry and analysing TISM's status as one of the most memorable, mysterious and paradoxically successful groups to have ever existed within the country's vibrant alternative music scene.