Seraphina Lotkhamnga on May 26th, 2013

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Elena Tonra is so soft-spoken, the few words she uttered between songs at the Troubadour on Wednesday night were barely audible. Once accompanied by a melody, though, the singer-songwriter and mastermind of London folk-rock trio Daughter was anything but bashful, her voice ringing loud and true.

• ||| Photos by Carl Pocket

Returning to L.A. for the first time since the release of their debut “If You Leave” (out now via 4AD), Tonra and her bandmates Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilela were greeted by a sold-out venue full of fans were eager to start the band’s two-night stint. “I love you, Elena!” and “Marry me!” her admirers shouted, but the second Tonra strummed the first chord to “Shallows” (the track that contains the lyrics from which the album is titled), silence swept over the room.

Befitting the somber set, Daughter didn’t engage in much banter during the set. “This is very exciting,” Tonra said in a hushed tone before going into “Touch.” Of course, this break allowed an eruption of happy cheers. No one seemed to care that every song that followed was bleak, because it all sounded beautiful. If this was a musical therapy session for Tonra, fans were grateful to be sitting (or standing) in; everybody was on her side.

With a set packed with such pathos, there was not one soul who didn’t swoon as she wistfully sang “I used to dream of adventure/When I was younger,” from “Amsterdam,” or morbidly shared “Sometimes I wish I stayed / Inside my mother,” from “Smother,” or “If you’re in love / You’re the lucky ones / ‘Cause most of us / Are bitter over someone,” from “Youth.” By the time Daughter played “Landfill,” people were ready to shout the lyrics: “I want you so much / But I hate your guts.” Fans did not settle for mouthing the words.

Only the lyrics from “Tomorrow” failed to ring true in this show’s context – “Don’t bring tomorrow / “I know I’ll lose,” Tonra sings, but fans who would return the next night for a second sold-out show obviously felt otherwise.

Daughter returned to the stage for an encore and fulfilled fans’ requests for Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” because the trio “do it better than they do” with their cover.

Minneapolis, Minn.,-baseed indie pop artist Jeremy Messersmith opened the night.

||| Live: Daughter returns to L.A. on Aug. 10 and 11, supporting the National at its dates at the Greek Theatre and Hollywood Forever Cemetery, respectively.