A sign outside the hall announced that “this evening’s performance contains haze”. Indeed it did. Bebel Gilberto has specialised in a laidback, misty fusion of bossa nova and electronica ever since she became a bestselling celebrity back in 2000, with the release of her album Tanto Tempo. She has had an uneven career since then, but now she is back, celebrating the release of Tudo, her first album in five years. It’s an ambitiously eclectic set, and she tried hard to prove that she can still create a distinctive style of her own.

Backed by a five-piece band featuring acoustic guitar and keyboards, she started with a demonstration of her musical range, with her pleasantly chilled and rhythmic Latin-reggae reworking of Bob Marley’s Sun Is Shining, followed by Luiz Bonfá’s delightful Saudade Vem Correndo. It’s a song that appears on her new album, but was also a subtle reminder of her heritage, for it was also covered by Stan Getz, who performed both with Bebel’s legendary and reclusive father João Gilberto and her mother, the singer Miúcha. Bebel may be the daughter of Brazilian musical royalty but she still clearly finds performance difficult. Singing to a sold-out Barbican, she complained that she was nervous, asked to be brought drinks, played with her hair, and engaged in awkward dance routines.

But she held the set together, switching between Portuguese, English and even French songs, and though the languid mood rarely altered, there was some impressive material. Her new songs ranged from the easygoing but forgettable English-language pop of Somewhere Else to the cool, drifting Areia, and she threw in some entertaining cover versions, including a rhythmic version of the French club favourite Tout Est Bleu, and an unexpectedly charming, gently romantic treatment of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, one of the best songs of the night.