Carla dal Forno @ Paradise Palms, Edinburgh, 8 Feb

We arrive in good time for Carla dal Forno’s free gig at Paradise Palms tonight – and just as well, really. It's already heaving – in some places, uncomfortably so, due to the venue’s layout – so we squeeze our way through the wall of people standing at the bar trying to get a drink. The whole area in front of the stage is still fully laid out with tables and chairs (insert frustrated noise here), every one of them occupied.

We digress. We finally make it to the front of the stage to join the gaggle of other like-minded gig-goers trying to get a good spot for the show. By the time dal Forno takes to the stage, there are people everywhere – three or four deep in the narrow bar walkway, and between every nook and cranny of table and chair space. It’s a riot.

A silence washes over the room, until dal Forno thanks us for coming and an audience member yells “I love you!” Our host then cruises into her first song with the sound of lapping waves before a welcoming dirge ensues, setting the scene for the next 30 minutes. It's followed by What You Gonna Do Now, an early highlight in the set, and new song Make Up Talk which, as she points out, uses delay on the vocals. “Just a bit!” someone heckles, as we hilariously hear each line twice. The song also features added percussion from the bar staff as they rattle through some cocktails; fortunately this doesn’t distract too much from the song and we’re treated to a calming outro of birdsong as it ends – a perfect accompaniment to the stage's arrangement of palm trees, which dal Forno regularly tickles throughout the set with the head of her Hofner bass.

A brief pause in the set sees dal Forno ask the crowd if there’s any rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow (where she played the night before), as the Melburnian singer experiences that very thing with Sydney. An awkward chuckle goes round the room before someone casually implies that Auld Reekie is better than Glasgow, and offers a safe space for her to crowd surf. Politely declining, dal Forno introduces Blue Morning, a cover of aptly-named New Zealand band The Kiwi Animal, which sits perfectly among dal Forno’s own repertoire.

Fast Moving Cars (the “most well-known one about an ex-boyfriend who was a bit of a shit”) is delivered flawlessly, and introduced with cracks of thunder played through a Roland sampler. This is quickly followed by “another new one which is about another guy who was a bit better,” before the set comes to a close with Better Yet. Hopefully this string of three to close the set means things are looking up romantically for dal Forno.

We’re mesmerised from start to finish by Carla dal Forno’s dark, moody, lo-fi electronica (delivered in an ironically bright venue): a lovely way to spend a Wednesday night, despite our initial concerns surrounding the ramshackle set-up. Palms, we still love you!