The girls featured in this issue’s reviews will inevitably have their music uncomfortably pigeonholed by genre for easy reference, but more than most music-makers in 2010 they have ripped up the rule-book, turning stylistic signifiers upside down and demanding new genres. And don’t we l❤ve it when our ladies are demanding?

Janelle Monae
The ArchAndroid
(Bad Boy Records)

A high concept album in the vein of David Bowie or Erykah Badu (who Monae recently toured with), The ArchAndroid will rub many the wrong way with its lofty ambition and romantic sci-fi back-story, its alter egos and unpredictable tempos. Still more should love it for the same reasons – a flat refusal to do anything “by the book”. Read all the reviews in the Girl’s Issue