Sound and vision

JANELLE MONÁE,Tripod, Dublin Wed 7.30pm €32/€28 0818-719300

Some years it’s all about one or two acts, the kind that come from nowhere and take your breath away. One such act that popped up this year is Janelle Monáe.

Monáe, of course, has been around for several years, signing to Sean Combs's Bad Boy record label after being recommended by Outkast (with whom she collaborated on their Idlewildalbum). Fast-forward a few years and Monáe is hip to knowing what makes a pop star different.

Adding strong sci-fi- inspired imagery and a hint of David Bowie's chameleon-like reinventions to a collection of tin-lid-banging tunes, she released The ArchAndroidearlier this year, one of the best albums of 2010. That, as well as her debut appearance in Ireland at Electric Picnic, paved the way for a new star and a different way of combining image and substance.

A good way, then, to begin saying goodbye to 2010? Oh, yes.

Can’t See That? Catch This

The National Thurs, Dublin