Lorde @ Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 26 May

We hear Lorde before we see her in full, her shadowed silhouette outlined as she sings the opening lines: 'Wearing SPF 3000 for the ultraviolet rays… / I’m gonna live out my days'. It’s a serene start, and as she steps into view she launches into a charged rendition of Homemade Dynamite, dancing across the stage with abandon.

There’s a palpable excitement in the crowd: this is Solar Power, illuminated in spectacular technicolour glory. 'I live in a hologram with you', Lorde croons, the energy continuing with fan-favourite Buzzcut Season. Her stage presence is assured and joyful as she laughs, dances, and delivers raw, formidable vocals with ease. The wooden geometry of the set, spherical suns and a giant staircase rotate slowly in tune with the music, and at times her image is projected on screen, layered and trippy, creating a dreamy psychedelic reverie.

The show tonight is split into three “acts”, drawing out interconnected themes between material past and present. In Act II, lyrics like 'Summer slipped us underneath her tongue' on The Louvre sit neatly alongside Big Star, where she laments that 'Every perfect summer’s gotta say goodnight', and as we're taken deeper into the set the songs begin to melt into one another, like heady summer days stretching onwards.

Lorde @ Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 26 May by Serena Milesi

Lorde indulges in the luxury of time throughout her set, allowing each song space and room to breathe and be absorbed by the eager crowd. Her performance tonight is interspersed with reflective interludes: everyone in the crowd holds their own connections, memories, feelings and stories to these songs, she tells us, and she warmly extends an invitation to “time-travel” back with her. After all, sadness is more bearable when we “go there together”, she continues. It’s true: 'I’ve never felt more alone' (Ribs) sung back by hundreds of people feels uniquely comforting, adding an organic intimacy to even this sold-out show in the ornate Usher Hall.

Her final act has her hard-hitters (Supercut, Green Light, Solar Power), with the crowd singing the lyrics back with fervour; Lorde lets go at times, allowing her songs to take a life of their own and simply dancing along. She encourages us to dance in the joys together, and with her. A unanimous cry of “One more tune!” draws her back to the stage for an encore, and she indulges us one last time, more than welcomed by the roaring crowd.

Evoking sun-drenched days, carefree joy, surrender and acceptance, Lorde brought an intoxicating slice of solar power to Edinburgh tonight: we’ll more than eagerly be anticipating her return.