Following a short run of shows supporting Harry Styles, Nashville’s Mitski headlined to mesmerising effect at Cardiff University. Her previous week had been spent in stadia – a night in Glasgow’s Ibrox, two at Old Trafford in Manchester and a weekend at Wembley – with a Glastonbury slot the following weekend. She downsized for the Welsh capital, of course, but the date had sold out well in advance.

Brooklyn indie-folk musician Cassandra Jenkins opened the show: sweet harmonies mixing with the soft-focused arrangements of saxophone, guitars and keyboard. Required to pause her set when a spate of overheated spectators needed assistance, she did a fine job keeping the crowd calm whilst security attended to the problems. Debuting tonight in Wales, Jenkins will return in August for a slot at the Green Man festival.

The crowd went mad the second that Mitski graced the stage, and her magnetic stage presence is apparent from the off too. You may have seen her Styles support slots attract minor TikTok controversy, commenters describing her dancing as “disturbing” and “traumatising”. To me, it felt intimate and personal, and ably conveyed her art. (There is, moreover, a wider point that could perhaps be unpacked regarding Westernised standards of performance art, Mitski’s Japanese heritage and who or what gets declared ‘inappropriate’.)

Latest album, February’s Laurel Hell, adds synths to Mitski’s primarily guitar-led production; Should’ve Been Me and Working For The Knife were among the selections from it tonight. This reviewer’s personal favourite – 2018’s Be The Cowboy, her fifth LP and breakout hit – was recognised in the form of Washing Machine Heart, Me And My Husband, Old Friend and set closer A Pearl. I Bet On Losing Dogs, from 2016’s Puberty 2, offered another standout; delving further back still, First Love/Late Spring was slower in tempo but so beautiful. Needless to say, and despite the sweltering room, lyrics were sung back at Mitski from her rapt fanbase all evening.

Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Tue 21 June

words MEGAN EVANS for BUZZ CULTURE photos HANNAH NICOLSON-TOTTLE