You get the sense that Katie Noonan could do anything, music wise, and in her appearance at the magical fringe venue, the Aurora Speigaltent, she just about does. Noonan is effortless and comfortable and at times her vocal genius is mind boggling. The set is symphonic: an emotionally charged journey through predominantly, the darker side of life, but she balances the intensity through weaving in the other side of the equation: her gentler side.

Noonan, in this set, uses the audience as “guinea pigs” for her new album. She is appreciative of the reception “the new stuff’ has received so far, and has this audience equally transfixed. She is a true soprano, and this set showcases her ability for soaring heights and melancholy lows. The music is masterfully constructed, as if Noonan had a predetermined vision for her art, and in its execution the music is complex, layered and have, like a good book, many chapters apiece.

She races through the tracks, concerned for the time constraint the hour set limits. Towards the conclusion we hear more from her, including some cheeky banter, talking us through the future of her music, the development of her new record, and her experience of Adelaide so far. She warms the audience towards the pinnacle of the set, performing crowd favourite and highlight, her new track, “Time.” Encapsulating her new and developing style, “Time” incorporates electronically generated vocals, layered over pulsating and grinding bass, moving as a crescendo towards the emotional crux.  We then see her softer side; the track “Silence” is just her, the piano and electronically generated vocal harmony. She has the room in awe, motionless and reflecting the track’s name.

Noonan is a graceful, generous performer and executes her songs with such precision, it’s hard to believe they are being performed live. The show is technical, but allows enough space to digest the spontaneity a live act brings. Her soprano is far from piercing, it is delicate, restrained and perfectly compatible with the masculine dissonance the hard hitting backing band provides.