Her third album Visions was released in January to tremendous critical acclaim and it propelled Boucher's ethereal synth-based pop music into the limelight. Following her sell-out May show at The Arches, Tuesday night saw Grimes return for another Scottish date.
Supported by Becoming Real (an enjoyable but slightly dated electro set), Grimes bounds onstage to a very warm reception. Boucher exudes a likeability that's hard to ignore, though if her charming stage presence doesn't win you over, then the strength of her live performance will.
Opening with a gentle rendition of Symphonia IX, her visceral vocal fills The Liquid Rooms. The disparity between the rigid industrial music and her raw, fluttering vocal works exceptionally well. The audience are adoringly attentive, though it's not until the stabbing chords of Oblivion ring out that they begin to liven up (some would say a bit too much – is it really necessary to mosh to ambient pop music?)
Accompanied on stage by only an electronic drummer (and a bizarre back-up dancer in a skeleton costume), it is the powerful surging kick-drum of Genesis which carries the gig whilst Grimes suffers a slight technical hitch.
The refrain of the bewitching Be A Body fills the venue before Grimes announces her final song. Phone Sex is a new track and is noticeably more upbeat than anything she's previously unveiled; it's almost trance. Ending her 40-minute set in a fit of giggles, the crowd disperses calmly, clearly in high spirits after such an enchanting set. There's no doubt that everyone had fun, and by the looks of her subsequent tweets ("I'm obsessed with Edinburgh . . .I want to be a medieval Scottish person"), so did Grimes.
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