BØRNS Brings Sugary Synth-Pop Magic to House of Blues

“Is it us? Or is it just supernatural?” BØRNS croons in “Supernatural.” Neon pink lights illuminate a leafy green backdrop behind him. White strobe flickers in the back. The song is about a relationship, rather than a person, but one can’t help wonder whether the singer himself exudes a certain supernatural, alien energy.

If not an actual alien, BØRNS is at least a very otherworldly human. At six-foot-three, he cuts a lanky figure onstage, sometimes seeming to tower over the audience. His crystalline falsetto rings, even several songs deep into the setlist. Multicolored, neon lights tinted his angled, androgynous features. His persona seems to be cobbled together from contrasts and contradictions, and so too, does his lyricism, which radically fluctuates between spirituality and sexuality, vibrant youth and aged melancholy. “Let me satisfy your soul, / Not a saint, but do I have to be?” he sings in “Holy Ghost,” a synth-pop seduction caged, somewhat sacrilegiously, in the language of worship. Even his stage name, stylized BØRNS, hints at the exotic, yet his biography—he was born Garrett Borns in Grand Haven, Michigan—feels unexpectedly rooted in the ordinary.

BØRNS’ “Blue Madonna” tour came to the House of Blues in Boston last Sunday, Feb. 11. Despite a brief lull during the less familiar songs of BØRNS’ repertoire, a rollicking encore featuring remixed versions of certified crowd-pleasers from his earlier album revitalized the energy in the venue. Mikky Ekko, a pop singer, opened for BØRNS, coming into the crowd in the floor section during his solo rendition of his 2013 duet with Rihanna, “Stay.” After Ekko, Charlotte Cardin, a Canadian singer-songwriter, continued the opening act, showcasing original songs and a husky, low register not unlike Amy Winehouse’s.

BØRNS’ own setlist opened with “God Save Our Young Blood,” a synth-heavy solo version of his duet with Lana Del Rey, after which he announced that he would “play the entire album, top to bottom,” a seemingly practical move given the recent release of his latest record, “Blue Madonna.” His sophomore album is front-loaded, though: The highlights, including sugary pop track “Faded Heart” and the album’s second single “Sweet Dreams,” came and went in rapid succession. BØRNS’ stage presence is minimal—despite the rock ‘n roll sonic influences, he prefers cool nonchalance to wild bacchanal dancing—yet still magnetic, a certain insouciant look in his eyes. Occasionally, he reached out to the audience, even taking from one concertgoer a pink flower crown to wear during “Man.”

Enthusiasm in the room seemed to dim after the first few songs. Given the late January release date of “Blue Madonna,” it might have been too soon for the crowd to sing all the lyrics back to him, save a few dedicated listeners. “Blue Madonna” tracks seem to burn slow—or stifle their own flame, as Pitchfork wrote of the album’s “great ideas constrained in songs that rarely allow them to come to fruition.” True, the “Blue Madonna” setlist seemed to lack the ear candy melodies and uniformity of BØRNS’ earlier work. A few hits redeemed the anemic second half, including drum-heavy charmer “Man” and glittery West Coast beachside bop, “Second Night of Summer.”

Energy hit a crescendo as the concert reached its encore and the singer returned to tried-and-true crowd-pleasers from his 2015 debut studio album, “Dopamine” and his EP, “Candy.” Cardin, the second opening act, reappeared for a sultry duet cover of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” both singers harmonizing in all-white outfits, basking in red light. BØRNS seemed to be in his element as he delivered a stripped-down, gospel-influenced version of “Seeing Stars,” illuminated overhead by a single spotlight.

If playing “Blue Madonna” from track one to the end felt like rote memorization or muscle memory, the encore breathed new life into the concert by showcasing BØRNS’ capacity for sonic transformation. The few, unrecognizable measures obfuscated which song was next, but it was precisely that ambiguity that seemed thrilling—that signaled the possibility for anything. “Seeing Stars,” “American Money,” and “Past Lives”—all highlights from earlier records—began with uncertainty and evolved into familiar hooks that, once recognized, gave rise to emphatic applause.

Naturally, the setlist concluded with “Electric Love,” the addictively joyous, viral hit that became certified platinum last year and won the singer his mainstream popularity. Since the tune has backed airline commercials and several movies, one might have thought the song’s life had already run its course. Yet, as fuchsia lights flashed and hands waved in the air, BØRNS jubilantly strummed an electric guitar and lengthened the bridge to dance for a few more measures. The best, it seemed, had been saved for last.