Classic Stylings From Madeleine Peyroux

There’s an ineffable elegance to such legendary singers as Billie Holiday and Patsy Cline--a casual glamour that remains timeless. Madeleine Peyroux’s voice captured that same quality during her sold-out performance Thursday in LunaPark’s intimate Cabaret Room, and she applied it to some of the same material those women sang.

The 22-year-old singer-guitarist’s rumpled appearance starkly contrasted with her understated, polished vocals and precise elocution. Wearing a baggy red cardigan over black clothes, her hair in a sloppy ponytail, she seemed an unlikely diva-in-training but proved quite authentic. A spark of individuality glimmered behind a singing style that mimicked the phrasing, diction and essence of Peyroux’s inspirations, which also include Bessie Smith, Edith Piaf and Fats Waller.

Backed by a guitarist and bassist, Peyroux performed standards and originals from her debut album, “Dreamland,” moving easily among torchy ballads, jangly folk-pop and campy blues. The bohemian vibe was enhanced by the musicians’ spare but lively playing and their relaxed, if sometimes disorganized, stage interaction.

Peyroux convincingly handled a range of moods, while maintaining her distance from a song’s actual emotion. She was much more reserved and focused while singing than between numbers, when her waffling over song choices occasionally threatened to derail the set’s momentum.

The performance was both anachronistic and modern. It was surprising to hear young people playing this material credibly, and that itself made things pleasantly surreal. Then again, nostalgia remains a viable trend among hipsters today, and Peyroux’s mixing of classic styles was very ‘90s.

* Madeleine Peyroux plays Friday at 9:30 p.m. and next Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at LunaPark, 665 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood. $10. (310) 652-0611.