Christina Perri at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 19 November 2014

Christina Perri is one of those artists that so-called serious music fans tend to write off.

Despite some serious sleeve tats and a general appearance closer to hipster than pop princess, Perri’s music is, on the surface, typical pop fodder. Her lyrics are a continual exploration of constant heartbreak – a series of ruminations on past relationships and their inevitable endings in disaster.

Her debut LP, ‘Lovestrong’, is almost a text book example of how to record a break-up album.

But the mood at the gig is anything but grim. Perri’s unflappably peppy stage presence is weirdly infectious. Despite sounding at time like one of those beauty pageant contestants who go viral on YouTube after saying something stupid, Perri is very knowing about what she’s doing. Her music is exactly what it is for a reason – it’s not a cynical move to record this kind of pop if it genuinely is her ideal form of self-expression.

It might be something to do with the fact that, two albums into her career, Perri remains her own primary songwriter. At times she may verge on the lyrics that are cutsie to the point of ridiculous – lyrics that Taylor Swift might even think twice before singing (“Don’t count the miles/count the I love yous” on Miles being just one example)  – but weirdly, even moments like this are never anything less than totally earnest.  This isn’t produced pop; she really means it.

This becomes clear early in the show on the venue-filling ballad Arms – Perri delivers the soaring vocal hooks with aplomb, sending shivers through the entire crowd. It’s partially her angelic voice, weirdly smooth and soothing while also soaring up to dizzying, expansive highs. It’s partially just her, and the fact that she seems to be having so much fun being onstage that it wears off on everyone around her.

If there’s a criticism it’s less the songs, it’s the structure of the performance.

The backing band deliver a big, vibrant sound that radiates around the emotional core that is Perri’s vocals, but though it never drowns her out, it does get in the way at times.

Numbers like Distance and Human reach their peak when the band trails off and let Perri’s voice boom out alone, and lose something when the band comes crashing back in with more instrumentals than are strictly necessary.

The real payoff comes during the encore, when Perri takes to the piano alone for her breakthrough hit Jar of Hearts. It’s the undeniable highlight of the evening – an uninhibited outpouring of emotion, as well as a properly haunting piece of music.

More like this would have been nice, but by itself it’s proof enough that Perri has yet something to offer as a songwriter, with enough charm to win her way into the most cynical musical heart.