In an industry that's often referred to as a complete sausage-fest, the acts we're most excited about have names that, well, refer to women. Mind you, they don't necessarily have female members in the band -- it's really all in the name. So we asked a few of these acts "What gives?" One thing's for sure-- it ain't nothin' but a 'she' thing. Here are our favorites for 2009:

Vivian Girls
If one were to physically plot out the Vivian Girls industry buzz over the past year, you'd be hard pressed not to utilize the term 'sky-rocket.' Truth is, this Brooklyn trio of Cassie, Katy and Ali have yet to rest on their proverbial laurels and are continuing their upward trajectory. They released multiple 7"s and a full-length debut album in 2008 and have subsequently been gigging their asses off (channeling Nirvana and covering Brian Wilson when called for) around the world ever since. For a Vivian Girls primer be sure to track down "Wild Eyes", "Where Do You Run To" and our fave, "Second Date." The girls have undeniably 'broken through' as indicated by landing a coveted slot at the Coachella Festival in Palm Springs this May.

What's your take on all these male bands with female names, like Women and GIRLS?
We're impartial. Henry Darger's Vivian Girls were actually girls with penises, so us naming our band after them is a pretty similar thing to male bands naming themselves Women or Girls.

What's in store for Vivian Girls in 2009?
Lots! We are going to tour relentlessly-- so far we have a full US tour and two European tours booked. We are going to South by Southwest. We're recording our second album in LA in March, then release it in the fall on In The Red. We're also going to take the summer off and hang out in Brooklyn for three months, which is going to be amazing considering how we tour pretty much every month.

The Morning After Girls
One of our fave purveyors of blessed-out dirty guitars rife with the creased leather of heavily zippered motorcycle jackets, the Morning After Girls have emerged from the studio with a new album. This NYC-based band rolls with- count 'em-- no less than 5 guys, with nary a girl in sight. We're willing to overlook a glitch in data because, well, they have one of the best band names for a t-shirt ever (we dare anyone to attend a show and not walk out with 'Kill the Morning After Girls' merch). We caught one of their live gigs a few weeks ago showing their new take on the gospel according to reverb. This time around there are way more hooks and melodies-- as in, they’ll stick in your head regardless of whether you know the damn lyrics- best displayed in the title track off their upcoming release, 'Alone.' Not to worry; it still comes complete with plenty of fuzzy riffs, tamborine bangin’ loud as hell and yup, haircuts that could cut glass. Got noise? Bring it on.

Do you get a lot of people doing a double take when they don't see any girls in the current lineup? People are very hasty to label something, and they really do believe everything they read. I've always been interested in human beings’ tendency to take for granted "a priori" meanings and definitions of words or a group of words. So, yes, many people do indeed do a double take. But c'mon people, you can do better than that.

Best advice for avoiding awkward morning-after moments? (Sorry, we had to go there.)
Moments get awkward when you veer from your own path. Don't avoid what the moment demands.

What's in store for the Morning After Girls in 2009?
We are going to tour our second album, ("alone", which will be released soon), extensively and prodigiously, both throughout the USA and the rest of the world.

Screaming Females
If Twitter and instant messaging are a gauge of critical hotness, Screaming Females take the cake. Straight outta New Brunswick, their three-piece party gigs are burning up the blogosphere-- or as a friend of ours simply texted at 3 AM last week-- "Screaming Females are THE SEX." Don't believe us? Get a hold of the slow burnin' single "Cortez the Killer" and see if you don't agree.

Have you ever gotten screamed at by a woman because of your name?
If someone has a reaction to our name it is usually just a laugh because only one of us is female. I try to point out that it isn't 'THE' Screaming Females. Each person in the band is not a Screaming Female. Screaming Females should be taken as an idea by itself. There are a lot of meanings it could have. I wish that people would first think about what the idea of the phrase 'Screaming Females' could mean before thinking about why a band made up of two males and one female would be called that. One time a girl did yell at me about the name but that was only after she yelled at me for wearing a fishing competition shirt that I had gotten for free at a clothes swap. She thought I was supporting killing fish. I was in fact supporting free clothes. Other than her no one has taken offense.

Who exactly is in your lineup?
Our line up has always been the same. Marissa on guitar and vocals. King Mike on bass. Jarrett on drums. Marissa is a female, the other two aren't.

Any cases of mistaken identity because of the gender issue?
While on tour gas station attendants have a tendency to call Marissa 'Sir' or 'Mister.' She always wonders how that happens considering she has breasts.

What's in store for Screaming Females in 2009?
We have our third full-length album, Power Move,coming out April 14 on Don Giovanni Records. We are headed out for a month-long US tour in April and May, which is shaping up really well. We are also going to be releasing a split 7 inch on Infinity Cat Records with JEFF the brotherhood sometime in the spring or summer.

GIRLS
We've only ever seen GIRLS-- aka Johnny LeValley and Mikey Jones-- under the cover of night in sweaty club gigs, which is totally fine. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote "In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning" - the same can be said for GIRLS' sound. With songs that swoon from early New Order pop ("And If You Go") and the simultaneously energized and apathetic ("Gottogetaway") there are big things in store for these downtown denizens of Electric Avenue. We're not the only ones to think so-- they've already been interviewed on BBC Radio. We asked the lads to clarify a few things:

Your name is in all caps I take it?
Y E S.

Have any cases of mistaken identity?
We get mistaken for people who love all the time. Our love is a synthetic psychotic dream. Dreams are a symbol of random identities as well. We are working on a dream configuration machine that will allow us to communicate with our other identities, and in turn make us understand we are someone else. We will soon be able to talk to the assassin in us.

What do your moms think of the name?
Johnny's mom is a lounge singer in New Orleans and Mikey's mom is a masseuse. They love the name.

Also keep an eye on:

Women
With a debut album recorded on ghetto-blasters and old tape machines in a basement (with production helmed by none other than Chad VanGaalen) and released on Flemish Eye/JagJaguwar Records, Women pretty much have the indie community in the palm of their hand. Exquisite harmonizing via the Beach Boys with the lo-fi anthemic malaise (and we mean that in the best way) of the Velvet Underground, Grizzly Bear better watch their back. I'm just saying.... Download "Black Rice" now and impress your friends. They're on tour in the UK now but will be back stateside in time, of course, for SXSW next month.

Girls
Girls out of San Francisco-- not to be mistaken with GIRLS out of New York-- are high on the heat index and definitely a band to watch at SXSW this year. Remember the famous album cover for James' Laid? The blokes in dresses leaning against the wall and eating bananas? If that photo were a song, it would be Girls' "Lust for Life." Download that and "Hellhole Ratrace" asap. They'll be playing the Neon Lights Party on March 20th with yet another hotly tipped band, none other than Portland, Oregon's Parenthetical Girls. You can't make this stuff up.

Theoretical Girl
A goth-pop solo chanteuse out of the UK (unlike all the other North American bands listed here), Theoretical Girl spins straight-to-the-heart ballads over infectious beats with a debut album due soon on the Memphis Industries label. Download "The Hypocrite" and "The Boy I Left Behind" and get in on the fun.

~Abbey Braden