Are you bored with vacuum-packed rock played by people with the stage presence of a boiled potato? So is Chris Taylor of Menlo Park.

Menlo Park are as famous for their legendary "happenings" as their musical style which shepherds country, polka, jazz, chanson, Cajun, Memphis-style rock 'n' roll and fairground music into a giddy, exhilarating backdrop for the purring vocalist.

Their Victorian-themed "happening" at Shoreditch Town Hall two years ago deployed a stuffed bear in the entrance hall, a magician, a boxing match in a roped-off ring and a string quartet, as well as free food and vodka and cranberry for everyone who attended.

Menlo Park "silver-tongued" their record company into funding this one-night extravaganza to the tune of £20,000 under the guise of a marketing plan.

With such extravagant tastes, it's not surprising they have had a hard time finding a record label in the past.

But they have built a cult following based on word of mouth and good reviews and are now signed to Cutty Shark, which released the second of their four conceptual "postcard" EPs, Greetings From Lambeth, last Friday.

According to Taylor, the band's reputation for flamboyance and their fin-de-siecle image - somewhere between the Wild West and the Victorian London of Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde - was part of the concept from the beginning.

"We're trying to create a timeless image which fits the music and we think takes bits of different eras and combines them to make a sound of the future.

"To that effect, we make sure we control everything - we design our artwork, customise our clothes and direct our videos."

Taylor agreed his fascination for the 19th Century might have something to do with the image of the artist in those days as wild and dangerous and the aura of darkness and mystery that surrounded them.

"Absolutely. I'm fascinated by Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde, all of that.

"It's a million miles from the soulless rock (Taylor accompanies the words with a sneer) being made these days, making music for shopping malls. I hate rock."

Taylor is looking forward to playing beneath the Indian-inspired turreted dome of the Hanbury Arms on Wednesday.

"We like playing venues that reflect an idiosyncratic frame of mind," he says. But, although he loves Brighton and has a lot of friends here, even Taylor finds the level of excess daunting.

"People drink so much in Brighton. Every time I go out there, I get hammered. And then there are a lot of people walking around the streets with bad hair and cans of super-strength lager.

"I know they say the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom but I think some of these people have taken one drug too many."

Tickets are £6.50 in advance from Rounder Records, Brighton Square 01273 325440 or £7 on the door.

Preview by Jay Clifton, features@theargus.co.uk