Rex Orange County @ SWG3 Galvanizers Yard, Glasgow, 3 Aug

The mini-festival atmosphere at Galvanizers Yard is the ideal setting for the latest Rex Orange County tour. His stage is adorned with neon sunflowers, disco balls, and cute cartoon thumbs. The rainbow lighting matches the pastel outfits of the many young fans at this 4000 capacity outdoor venue – as well as the luminous pints of venom at the bar. On his second night in Glasgow, the Surrey-born songwriter brings spectacle and a sense of fun to this late summer celebration. 

Pulling heavily from WHO CARES?, his sunny and reflective new album, the set maintains the joyful energy central to his appeal. Long out of his bedroom and backed by a full band, songs like KEEP IT UP and AMAZING are beefed up and memorable; fan favourite Sunflower reaches new heights with saxophone and trumpet in the live setting.

The band's classy cover of Lovin' You by Minnie Riperton is a welcome surprise, even if Alex O'Connor's strained and boyish voice can't quite match the original's sweetness and charged eroticism. Still, it's a charming moment in a set that's full of moments like it. The understated and honest delivery on songs like THE SHADE suit him much better, in part because of its clearly personal subject matter. It adds weight to what could otherwise be twee earworms. 

Halfway through, O'Connor plays a brief collection of solo tracks which dive into his early catalogue. These cutesy ballads show their age; especially Corduroy Dreams, which is an awkward mix of polite lounge jazz, Disney quirk and teenage horniness. His musical range has always been impressive, but it veers into the Jacob Collier zone of soulless soul in moments like these. His early approach to songwriting can read too much like zillennial Bublé for comfort. 

To remove the music writer cynicism hat for a second, when you give into his charm, it's hard not to be swept up. The sun's out, the crowd is having fun, and Loving Is Easy is too sweet to deny. Still, his newer material places him on firmer footing. On set highlight OPEN A WINDOW, breezy vocal runs and a bubbly beat keep the energy high – high enough to dampen the disappointment of Tyler, the Creator's verse being replaced by (an admittedly great) trumpet solo. 

We end on natural encore Pluto Projector, the strongest of his stripped-back songs, lifted by a tight performance from his bandmates and a passionate lead vocal. The final stint of the Rex Orange County UK tour will be his last for a while, after many dates were cancelled due to unspecified personal reasons. 'I hope the encore lasts forever,' he sings here, and many of his fans will be hoping the same.