As they alway do, Dean’s band play fully reside – no samples, no backing tracks, no programmed beats – completely complementing the dusky glow of her voice.
Not which you can hear her sing, half the time.
Dean’s secret weapon is the incisiveness of her lyrics, which paint instantly-recognisable vignettes of affection.
She seasons her songs with peppery observations like, “I’m the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life” (So Easy), and astute self-analysis resembling, “I’m a tidal wave of question marks” (Dive).
The viewers appear to know each phrase – with the entire room reverberating to the declarative, “I do not want a boyfriend“, that crops up in the second verse of Nice To Each Other.
Even the songs from her commercially much less profitable debut are welcomed like outdated buddies – notably an acoustic model of UFO that strips away the authentic’s other-worldly vocal processing, exposing the loneliness at its core.
Between songs, she chats away about conditions that impressed her; and takes a second to mirror on the loopy ascent she’s had over the final 12 months.
“We actually played this venue in 2024 as part of the tour for my first album,” says the singer, who’s bought a six evening residency at London’s O2 coming up later this yr.
“It’s amazing to be back and think about everything that’s happened since I was last here. So I’m just full of gratitude tonight.”
