Fulborn Teversham, Komedia, Brighton, Tuesday

12:36pm Wednesday 16th May 2007

Support act Leafcutter John - looking worryingly like Jay Kay from Jamiroquai gone hippie - built intriguing layers of ambient noise live on stage by sampling sticks, glasses of water and even a Slinky (one of those springs which walks down the stairs).

Perhaps on record this music is lush and expansive. Live, however, it was the weaker end of the folktronica genre. To his credit, John has an expressive, trad-folky voice and he was lucky to be joined by Fulborn Teversham singer Alice Grant, who added delicate harmonies.

Expectations duly lowered, Fulborn Teversham couldn't have been more of a shock to the system. An unassuming quartet of drums, keyboard, tenor sax and Grant's vocals, they performed an unfettered, near-genius hybrid of rock-hard free jazz and groovy trip-hop torch songs.

Pete Wareham and Seb Roachford of Polar Bear are two of the most pivotal figures in the new London jazz explosion and immediately one could hear why.

Softly-spoken Roachford may be the more recognisable, with his enormous afro and ferocious drumming, yet Wareham's sublimely controlled sax work was more than equal to the challenge of keeping up.

Meanwhile, keyboardist Nick Ramm managed to cover both bass and funky (in a good way) electric piano sounds at once. Married to such able, fluid arrangements, they're almost indescribably good.

The ballads are also unexpectedly striking lyrically, occasionally quirky, evoking domestic loneliness and the up-and-down of real relationships. It was almost too much to hope that they'd have great songs as well, yet they do, in spades.

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