★★★★

CRITICAL consensus dictates that Angel Olsen has progressed from folk musician to slick synth star over the course of three albums.

The reality isn’t quite so simplistic, as the Missouri-born songwriter demonstrated in Brighton.

Her set was cohesive and fluid, her four-strong backing band making for a dependable unit.

That’s not to say that she didn’t showcase a range of styles and tempos – a few tracks from the largely acoustic debut album Half Way Home were of course distinct from the more glam-tinged rockers from subsequent records.

The anomaly of the set was Intern, the shimmering pop tune that, upon its release earlier this year, lead some to believe she had “gone synth”.

By way of disproving this notion, you only have to listen to Sister from the same new record My Woman, a sevenminute slow-burner that erupts into Laurel Canyon solos at its climax. It was a highlight here, and it is clear that the backing band relished the opportunity to let loose in an otherwise tight and compact show.

In fact, Olsen only took to keys for the encore. Main set opener Never Be Mine ushered in a string of electric guitardriven songs taken also from second breakout record Burn Your Fire For No Witness.

The singer specialises in heartbreak and nowhere more than Hi-Five, which displays a unique brand of upbeat misery.

Olsen’s vocal is mournful and bitter, but the music is relatively jaunty and her lyrics defiant. “Are you lonely too? Hifive, so am I.”

There was certainly one fan in attendance who seemed on a mission to ensure Olsen didn’t feel lonely in Brighton.

His shouted enthusiasm was met with an offer to join the singer on stage, before she joked about meeting him after the gig. “Maybe you can give me a show,”

she teased. It wouldn’t come close to the sublime one Olsen delivered.