FKA Twigs @ Stereo, 29 July

At first, smoke clouds and back lighting sustain FKA Twigs’ mystery and unearthliness; that alien air steadily cultivated over the last 20-or-so months by a string of bold, body-warping promo videos and record sleeves. As she floats amidst the fog, pigtails darting away from her body with each flowing change in direction, lithe vocals cast an instant spell: from the metallic, barely-there whispers of Weak Spot to the sensual high notes of Lights On to the aloof incantations of Water Me. Behind her, a three-strong band produces a backdrop of crystalline beats and brooding bass, creating a compelling contrast: the viscous reverberations at one end of the mix against the immiscibly high vocals at the other.

Only between songs does the sphinx-like persona slip away, replacing the enigmatic FKA Twigs with Tahliah Barnett from Gloucestershire: giggly, grateful to be here, and for some reason keen to share the story of how her band first got together in a branch of Café Nero. Yet rather than puncture the magic, these prosaic interludes help to emphasise it: if this is what Barnett can achieve already, while still a little green, imagine the elaborate knots she’ll be tying peoples’ minds into in the future.