We reserve the right to be totally and absolutely arbitrary. It is our art," states David Thomas, frontman and founder member of Pere Ubu.

"From the start the Ubu methodology was almost, just about nearly, definable.

"Don't ever audition, don't look for someone, don't seek success, put unique people together. Unique people will play uniquely whether or not they know how to play."

Pere Ubu pull no punches. Named after Alfred Jarry's surrealist play Ubu Roi, their commitment to art for art's sake and the "Pere Ubu methodology" has been unrelenting in a career spanning 30 years.

Admittedly, the band has seen countless members come and go in the process (singer David Thomas is the only original 1975 member) and the group's self-confessed "pigheadedness" has meant they have remained largely underground.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," says David. "In practice we operate by consensus. This has had disastrous commercial consequences. It means that we sometimes don't do anything.

"When the situation becomes intolerable the only solution is to disband and reformat. Being commercially successful is not a talent we have and we don't have a problem with that. We prefer to go about our own business.

"And besides," he adds, "we have a problem with repeating ourselves and once you become popular, there's a lot of repetition involved."

So Pere Ubu do things their own way and have done ever since they emerged out of a Cleveland garage in the mid-Seventies to become part of a fertile rock scene that included bands such as The Electric Eels, Rocket From The Tombs and Devo. Regarded by some as the missing link between the Velvet Underground and punk, they became the definition of a cult band and influenced the likes of Joy Division, Pixies, Henry Rollins and countless others.

Led by the wildly expressive and hefty Thomas, Pere Ubu's music is an atmospheric, angst-ridden blend of hard groove rock, "found" sound (abstract recordings from television shows, passersby, and nature) analog synths, disintegrating song structures and yelping, squawking vocals.

Early albums Dub Housing and The Modern Dance are widely considered dark and difficult modern masterpieces, with plenty of bleak soundscapes and ominous distortions. They sold next to nothing but remain important and influential American rock records.

Eccentric side projects and collaborations are also a speciality. Last year Pere Ubu improvised an atmospheric soundtrack complete with witty dialogue to the classic 1953 3D science fiction film It Came From Outer Space, at the Brighton Dome.

But what's on the cards for tomorrow night? "We always do a fairly complete spectrum of our albums," says David.

"Most if not all of them, new stuff we are currently working on... everything," he stumbles.

Best expect the unexpected. Clearly, this is a band that follow their own muse.

Starts 7pm, tickets cost £12. Call 01273 673311.