Speaking to the ever-coquettish Jessy Lanza, it’s instantly apparent that the fast-rising electronic sensation—admittedly nervous by nature—is as transparent in conversation as she is in her new music.

Soft-spoken yet giggling at every opportunity, Lanza confirms that her latest record, Oh No, was produced with an audacity lacking on her unexpectedly smashing 2013 debut, Pull My Hair Back, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.

Swapping spirited minimalism, reticent lyrics, and breathy falsettos for a punchier, more definitive sound, Oh No sees Lanza blooming into a musician that, while still fearful of failure, has pushed aside all regard for potential criticism.

“I was definitely more confident the second time around,” Lanza says to the Straight from her studio in Hamilton, Ontario. “I got really paranoid, like, ‘What if this comes out and everybody thinks it’s a piece of shit?’ At some point, I decided I didn’t care if it was successful or not, and that helped a lot, just to be focused on making a poppier record.”

Working with native Hamiltonian and Junior Boy Jeremy Greenspan for the second time, Lanza drew courage from his fearless approach to taking risks in the studio. Paired with the meticulous sound mixing of David Psutka (aka Egyptrixx), Greenspan’s palpable, pop-driven influence brings a sense of unprecedented maturity to Lanza’s sophomore release.

“It’s weird to admit that even if I’m working alone, I get so self-conscious, where I’m just embarrassed by how shitty some things I do are,” Lanza says. “But that’s just part of being creative—coming to terms with the fact that a lot of what you do is not going to be great.”

Her second release on the U.K.–based label Hyperdub, Oh No is strung together with groovy, lo-fi electronica, dance-inducing hand claps, syncopated beats, and bravely experimental vocalizations. Drawing on ’80s pop, ’90s R&B, and DJ Rashad’s 00’s-era Chicago-born footwork, it’s a brazen departure from Lanza’s past work.

Highlights include “VV Violence”, an upbeat, defiant tune that opens with some serious attitude, as Lanza chirps, “I say it to your face but it doesn’t mean a thing.” The seductive, whispery vocals in “I Talk BB” recalls Pull My Hair Back, but Lanza enters new territory in “Going Somewhere”, as she vulnerably admits to a love interest, “Baby, I just wanna impress you.”

The standout track and the record’s first single, “It Means I Love You”, has the potential to be a club favourite this summer. Accordionlike synths, steadily progressing percussion, and confrontational vocals will have listeners car-dancing and belting out the lyrics at the song’s climax: “Don’t know how you do it/You know that you don’t belong/Like you always waiting/You know you ain’t never stop.”

When it comes to lyrics, Lanza says she “doesn’t try too hard to think about them, because they can get really shitty, really fast”. That casual approach makes for a barrage of simple, stick-in-your-head hooks, but for the most part, she says, they still come from an emotional place.

“I think a theme I deal a lot with is rejection, or wanting somebody but not being sure if they want you the same way—that sort of cliché,” Lanza explains. “I think back to moments where I felt like I really wanted to express something, and that would be the feeling I would always come back to.”

One might not assume Toronto’s neighbor to the southwest to be a stomping ground for two of Canada's biggest music acts, but Lanza says Hamilton provides her with a sense of comfort that she hasn’t found elsewhere.

“I’m really comfortable here, which is really important to me, to feel like I’m in a space where it makes sense for my life,” Lanza says. “I can walk [to my studio], I can make noise whenever, and that’s actually harder to find in bigger cities—a space where you’re not bothering people with your music. It's something I could never afford if I lived somewhere else.”

It stands to reason that we won't ever see Lanza relocating to Vancouver, but her upcoming live show will give fans an opportunity to see the classically-trained pianist at work at the DJ table.

Eagerly anticipating her first headlining tour in more than two years, Lanza reiterates that she’ll “always be a nervous person”, but being on-stage gives her an opportunity to let go.

“I treat it as an escape,” she says. “It’s such a surreal experience to get on-stage and play in front of people, and it makes it easier when I just let myself get lost in it.” 

Jessy Lanza plays Alexander Gastown on Tuesday (June 21).