POP MUSIC REVIEW : Bettie Serveert a Dutch Treat

The Dutch quartet Bettie Serveert (the name translates as Betty Served , a non sequitur nod to former tennis star Betty Stove) has been aptly compared to Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and less appropriately to the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. The group’s winning show at the Whisky on Thursday suggested a grunge Cowboy Junkies, or a folk-rock Sugarcubes. If they had a second lead guitarist they might be Television backing Suzanne Vega.

Admirably, the band didn’t adapt to the rock-club racket of the Whisky by shying away from the introspective aspects of its melancholy-tinged music. Nearly every song opened with a deliberate, spare instrumental statement, gradually built mass and then found release in Peter Visser’s extended guitar frenzies.

A certain sameness set in, but with singer Carol van Dijk as a focal point it wasn’t a serious problem. Her piping voice has the unschooled naturalism of Vega and Vega-ish newcomer Julianna Hatfield. Her singing (in perfect English) is simple and direct, with a sweet vulnerability, flashes of power and an elusive allure emanating from the mysterious zone between childhood and maturity.

Throw in some intriguing melodies and lyrics, a loose and powerful rhythm section and an utterly unpretentious manner, and you’ve got a formidable addition to the short list of notable Dutch bands.