Clinic, Audio, Brighton, April 10

12:33pm Wednesday 9th April 2008

Clinic have always been a law unto themselves. Their fifth studio album, Do It!, is a glorious, kaleidoscopic whirl through music hall, Bo Diddley, Can, surf guitar, tango, doo-wop and dub, with an appeal as immediate as it is warped.

The group formed in their home town of Liverpool back in 1997. As with many bands from the city, they look to the 1960s for inspiration. But unlike most of their peers, they see it as raw material to be twisted into their own idiosyncratic forms, rather than a template to be rigidly followed.

"I think there's still that tradition of things like The La's and obviously before that The Beatles. There's always been that tradition of guitar bands with harmonies," says keyboard player Ade Blackburn. "I suppose we're a bit weirder than the average. It's probably less technical in that sense. It's not so much slavishly copying something."

Their debut single IPC Subeditors Dictate Our Youth was duly feted by the IPC-owned NME and Melody Maker, as well as making the top ten of John Peel's Festive Fifty. The band were signed to Domino shortly afterwards and it has remained their home ever since.

"The label has always let us do our own thing. It's ideal for us, because we've never really put any pressure on ourselves in commercial terms," he explains. "Perhaps if it had been on a bigger scale, it might have been harder to last this long because when you go up a gear, there are added pressures on you."

The modest Blackburn is underselling Clinic's achievements a little. Their second album, Walking With Thee, was nominated for a Grammy, although even the lure of free booze couldn't coax the band into attending the ceremony. Both Scott Walker and Jarvis Cocker invited them to play the Meltdown festival when they curated it and the group have also toured with Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire and Radiohead. They will be playing at the latter's Daydream Festival in Barcelona later in the year.

"To do something like that, on a bigger scale, is always exciting," Blackburn enthuses. "It seems a lot of people in bands appreciate what we do. Maybe it's because what we do is outside of the conventional scene.

"People like Scott Walker, they're proper, enigmatic stars, which you don't get enough of. But it's always strange when you get invites to do those events, because it's not the kind of thing you ever imagine happening."

This tour will see the band playing two sets, with the new album played in full in the first half before a "golden oldies" set closes the night. They'll continue to sport the surgical masks and costumes which have marked their public appearances throughout their career.

"There's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek tropical theme this time. We've got some Hawaiian outfits to go with the masks," he laughs. "There are some quieter songs on the album and you normally might not play those tracks live. You'd stick to things which are more heavy and raw-sounding. So it pushes you into doing something which is outside what you'd normally do.

"When we play live a lot of people dance to the music, so it doesn't feel like there's a gap, really, between us on stage and the people in audience. I think that's really good."

Support comes from Threatmantics.

• 7pm-9.30pm, £9.50/£8.50, 01273 606906

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