L'Orchidée d'Hawaï is a French band, and, as such, it's hard to tell when they're kidding. Their songs bounce back and forth from surf rock, to spacey jams, to Japanese pop. You know what? They really seem into Asian culture. One song - "Bangkok 1997" - is precisely what I would expect to hear if I was to take a time machine to 1985 and travel the Orient in a flashy pantsuit - montage-style, of course. But I digress. With L'Orchidée d'Hawaï I don't know what I'm hearing. The band never seems to sing, only bringing in guest vocalists like Karl Blau. Another confusion: Is it weird that this band reminds me of a surf rock version of the Wu Tang Clan? Needless to say, you should see them at the Northern and return to me with your findings.

[Northern, with Arrington De Dionyso, Angelo Spencer, Malaikat Dan Singa, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, olympiaallages.org]