Ezra Furman @ Leith Theatre (EIF), Edinburgh, 23 Aug

After spending last year exiled to a business park in the west of the city, the contemporary music segment of the Edinburgh International Festival is back where it belongs – the grand surroundings of Leith Theatre. While the streets outside might be piled high with rubbish, the theatre looks better than ever this year, restored with love by the dedicated team and adorned with flags in EIF colours.

From Arab Strap’s arched miserabilism to Sons of Kemet’s tuneful jazz chaos, there’s plenty of variety over the course of the festival’s fortnight but tonight’s show feels like a bit of a moment for an act whose time has come. Though Ezra Furman has released five previous records, her big breakthrough came after a series of songs soundtracked season one of Netflix’s smash hit Sex Education. Now the venues are bigger, and the songs come with a new grandeur that fits the old theatre down to the ground.

Even with no Gillian Anderson dispelling wisdom, Ezra Furman’s songs manage to be funny and self-deprecating, exploring questions of identity and sexuality, occasionally sad but always moving at a hundred miles an hour, as though pausing for too long might break the spell. Though EIF is restored to its rightful venue, the evening still has a slightly strange set-up – an 8pm start, no support act, a few early technical gremlins – but Furman sparkles and sashays on stage, showcasing a new record that they can’t wait to dive into.

Image: Ezra Furman at Leith Theatre (EIF), 23 Aug by Ryan Buchanan

Opener Lilac and Black is a dramatic stage-setter dedicated to trans women, while the ecstatic Evening Prayer is the first shout-along moment of the night. Throne packs the thunderstorm drama of Tom Waits-penning-a-slasher, while Dressed In Black cribs from 60s girl group classics as its narrator promises to 'run away when we get the money saved'. 

Train Comes Through takes a winding structure reminiscent of old blues songs and buckles it to the winding down-the-road imagery of Bob Dylan in a plea to find a home and a community with your own people, outside of the stifling confines of the towns and villages that you hail from.

Introducing early single My Zero, Furman pays tribute to the 30 or so fans who came to see her play in Sneaky Pete’s back in 2014 but the best moment comes with a closing cover of punk icon Patti Smith’s Because the Night; described as a spell of protection for those present. 

The sands are shifting, but Ezra Furman is still way ahead.

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Edinburgh International Festival returns in 2023, from 4-27 Aug

eif.co.uk