Let’s admit it: even sexuality can get boring. And this is coming from sexy music’s biggest fan. If you give me a slow jam with some reverb-heavy snaps, my hips will be twitching for hours. When inc. and Rhye’s albums were battling for attention earlier this year, I was in heaven. It was like having two equally worthy suitors sending me flowers on alternating days. But eventually the honeymoon period ends, and those softly uttered “oohs” begin to lose their charm. At that point, I need something to spice up the marriage. Something a little different—a little off.

Enter Jessy Lanza, with a debut single that certainly makes an impression. All the conventional signs of the sensual are present and accounted for—but then there are the graceful, idiosyncratic garnishes that really make it stand out. Take, for example, the strange vocal sample that gives the song its title: a man repeatedly announcing with a sort of thuggish swagger the name “Kathy Lee.” Now, instead of envisioning rose petals and satin sheets, I am thinking of the middle-aged insane woman who gets drunk every morning on NBC. This may not be the intention, especially considering the difference in spelling, but hey, that’s music’s subjective power for you. And that kind of mental diversion is exactly the kind of disquieting little twist I needed my next sexy song to have. So thanks, Jessy Lanza. Thanks for letting it get a little weird.

“Kathy Lee” is Lanza’s first single off of her upcoming album Pull My Hair Back, which will be released on September 10th via Hyperdub. You can buy the song here.

(photo by Tim Saccenti)