People could go crazy trying to hang a label on 10,000 Maniacs.

Lead singer Natalie Merchant understands. Just listen to her try to explain the five-member band's musical direction.

"I don't like to compare us to anyone else", Merchant said in a telephone interview. "There may be a song that sounds like Jefferson Airplane, but the next song sounds like something Barbra Streisand would sing. We work within an established vocabulary of folk-based pop, but we move away from that."

Merchant pens all the band's lyrics. "The lyrics are not very common in pop music. They are more serious than what you would expect from a band with a name like 10,000 Maniacs," Merchant said.

The group's name was inspired by the cult film 2,000 Maniacs, but none of the band members has seen it.

"We should have a great self-realization and watch it sometime," Merchant said.

This is the second trip to Columbus for 10,000 Maniacs. The band opened for REM at Veterans Memorial in October.

Monday night's show at the Newport Music Hall will be a rare oppurtunity to see the band in a small hall. It will be the only club date they will play.

The band formed at the end of 1981 when the members were disc jockeys at Jamestown (N.Y.) Community College.

The group has released four albums, including The Wishing Chair and its most recent release, In My Tribe.

"I went through a phase of listening to harsh British music like The Clash and Gang of Four, but it got pretty dismal," Merchant said. "They all seemed to disband and commit suicide. When that music began turning to syntho-pop, I turned to folk and rhythm and blues."

Merchant listens to some modern music, including Cleveland-native Tracy Chapman, a Boston folk artist who recently released an album. Chapman will open for the band.

"We arranged to play together in London," Merchant said. "I'd never done an acoustic set before. It went beautifully."

Merchant said she and Chapman may team for an a cappella number on Monday.