TONY ENGELHART: HATES COMPARISONS ... OR SO HE SAYS >>>

I truly hate comparisons, but it’s the only way to effectively describe this band. A bit on the same wavelength as the Flaming Lips, the Harvey Girls pride themselves on experimentation. With a synth-heavy sound, they maintain a New Wave ’80s timbre, but are in step with the times. A bit Dead Can Dance, a bit Portishead and a bit Human League, the Harvey Girls are all over the map. Singer Hiram Locke’s Jim Morison-esque, deadpan vocals are complimented nicely by harmonies provided by Melissa Rodenbeek. However, when she steps up to the microphone, the band takes on a completely different identity as they morph into a strange culmination of the Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush. OK, enough of the associations, but I can say for certain this band will give Radiohead fans a raging hard-on.

[Le Voyeur, with Cars and Trains, Jenny Jenkins, Saturday, Jan. 31, 10 p.m., no cover, 404 E Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.943. 5710]