Dutch musician Carol van Dyk finds herself constantly having to explain the term “Attagirl,” the title of Bettie Serveert’s latest record.

“A lot of people in Holland don’t know what it means,” says the singer. “Basically, it means, ‘Go girl. You’re doing the right thing.'”

For nearly 15 years, van Dyk and her group have operated with that mindset. Although the alt-rock heyday of the ’90s has given way to the teen divas and generic alt-metal of contemporary radio, Bettie Serveert continues to do its own thing.

“It’s still the same band,” says van Dyk, a native of Canada whose family moved to Holland when she was a child.

“We’re still in the process of developing our own music. Even though we have a very recognizable sound — for those who know our music, obviously. People can always hear it’s Peter (Visser) playing guitar, for instance. They always seem to recognize my voice. In a way, we’re still kids playing with toys, and we’re very curious.”

Though based in Amsterdam, Bettie Serveert is no stranger to America. Since its inception, the emotional rock troop has made a habit of touring the states twice each year. (Oddly enough, however, tonight’s show at The Bottleneck will mark the act’s first time in Kansas.)

This is one of the reasons van Dyk believes the group is more popular here than in its own back yard.

“In Holland they listen to the music and want to be entertained,” she explains. “It’s like a night out and, ‘Hey, there’s a band playing and we can dance to it.’ But in America they actually LISTEN to the content. It’s logical because it’s their first language and it’s my first language. In Holland most people think that my lyrics are too difficult.”

Bettie Serveert's Peter Visser, Carol van Dyk and Herman Bunskoeke

Despite the members’ familiarity with America, that doesn’t mean Americans are particularly informed about the Hollanders … er, Netherlanders … uh, Dutch.

“(They think) we smoke pot every day and wear wooden shoes,” she says, laughing.

Formed in 1990 in Amsterdam, the band took its name from an instruction manual by Dutch tennis star Betty Stove. Translation: Bettie serves.

Between 1992 and 1997, the sometimes jangly, sometimes gritty ensemble released three signature albums — “Palomine,” “Lamprey” and “Dust Bunnies” — that established its reputation among the college rock crowd. Years on the road with acts such as Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom, Superchunk and Counting Crows helped buoy its indie fanbase, even if the unit never quite found mainstream success.

“Attagirl” presents a more experimental side to Bettie Serveert.

“It’s a process that we started with the previous record, ‘Log 22,'” van Dyk explains. “We just wanted to use a lot of other instruments. Instead of sitting down with an acoustic guitar, we would sit down with a drum synthesizer or keyboards or samples and build a song from there. That’s certainly something we’d never done before.

“I’ve heard people say they didn’t really get ‘Log 22’ until after they heard ‘Attagirl,’ and then it all sort of made sense.”

It’s no wonder van Dyk finds herself enamored with new sonic approaches. Prior to fronting the band, she was its sound engineer during an earlier incarnation. That technical craftsmanship continues to come in handy. (“Attagirl” was recorded in Visser’s living room.)

Carol van Dyk will perform with Dutch rockers Bettie Serveert tonight at The Bottleneck.

“There are core members — Peter, Herman (Bunskoeke) and I — but we’ve got three drummers and a keyboard player who can also play bass and guitar,” she says. “There are a lot of Betties inside Bettie Serveert. It’s more like a collective. It works because we always have enough band members to go on tour. … Three out of all the band members can do sound as well. So whoever is not onstage can do sound.”

There may be a stockpile of Betties, but van Dyk is the one inevitably linked to the name.

So how many times a day do people mistakenly refer to her as Bettie?

“One out of two times,” she confesses. “It’s OK. I can understand why they would call me Bettie. We should have come up with a different or better name.”

Audio interview with Carol Van Dyk Have you heard any words yet that you’re comfortable with for musically describing your band? Do you have more of a fanbase in Europe or America? What’s the best advice you’ve received about playing music?