And it’s true that it could be deemed weird to see a modern Melbourne band painstakingly recreate the famed new jack swing sound and aesthetic, popularised in the late ’80s and early ’90s in the US.

Think drum machines, orchestral hit samples, R’n’B vocals sung over hip-hop beats and lots of shoulder pads, turtle necks, trench coats and blue pin-striped suits.

Sex On Toast’s latest single Party, a firmly tongue-in-cheek homage to artists like Boyz II Men and New Kids On The Block, features on their forthcoming EP Rough.

Rough will be a exploration of the new jack swing sound and a companion piece with their 2016 EP Ready, which focused on late ’70s and early ’80s LA funk. It produced their popular track Oh, Loretta.

Leslie said he’s been obsessed with new jack swing since watching videos as a kid on Rage. 

“There’s that influence but I try to infuse any sort of insanity that I believe to be our own as a band,” Leslie said. “As a band of absolute weirdos, that we are, it makes sense to infuse those influences with our own bacteria.”

Just like Britain’s The Darkness or The Beards, Sex On Toast’s shtick is musical comedy. There’s the obvious outrageous costumes and choreographed dance routines, but Leslie said the 10-piece band aren’t interested in merely being a gimmick act.

“This was an experiment these two EPs, but it’s not something we’d make a name for ourselves doing,” he said. “Because the main priority is always been trying to write good songs, not trying to necessarily be a band that is completely trying to ape our references.”

At the heart of it, is Leslie’s obsession with musical history.

“I dig into music as hard as I can,” he said. “If I’m interested in something I don’t want to just gloss over it, I want to know everything, be it release dates and how it might fit into broader history, be it pop music, R’n’B or classical.

Catch Sex On Toast at the Wollombi Music Festival on September 21 and 22.