“This song is all about love, the next is about hope” said Polar Bear drummer Sebastian Rochford.

The statement, made with a touch of irony, summed up in a few words the quintet’s performance at Brighton’s Komedia.

Understated, mysterious, subtle and edgy, with a touch of humour – these are just a few of the adjectives which sprung to mind while watching the gig unfold.

During recent years they have quite rightly earned a reputation as one of the most creative acts on the UK music scene.

With the basic set-up of two tenor saxophones, double bass, drums and electronics/ guitar, the band pushed music way past the boundary of post-modernism.

The result was somewhere between sipping coffee in a Parisian café and space hopping down a cobbled street.

Syncopation mixed with jarring electronic riffs, long looping improvised sax solos combined with squeaks from a squeezed balloon – this was surely the soundtrack Dorothy should have listened to when she got whizzed off to Oz.

At times, the result drove the seated audience to stand up and started dancing in the confined space near their tables.

A particular favourite was the four-minute long double-bass solo which still left the crowd wanting more.

With a new album due out in a couple of weeks, it will not be long until fans can get a new douse of their improvised mayhem.

Whatever the inspiration behind these new tunes, based on this performance Polar Bear will not fail in their aim to shock and amaze.