Sometimes people give me CDs. Sometimes I review some of those CDs. What follows is what happens when I do that.

You can buy these tracks from all good (and some disreputable) record stores and download cubbyholes on the 13^th September, if that’s the sort of thing you like doing. I’m not going to force you into it.

Holy Fuck – Red Lights

Who got the funk? Holy Fuck got the funk. You could even call them Holy Funk! But I wouldn’t if I were you. I can’t see it ending well. That aside, you could quite easily do a dance to this in your kitchen, someone else’s kitchen, an indie disco or anywhere else you choose to. Some heavy sounding synths and the usual barrage of bleeps and bloops make this extremely listenable. Also of note is the swarm of bees at 1:43. Nothing says “propulsive dance floor funk” like a swarm of bees. 4/5

Die Antwoord – Enter the Ninja

This is the sort of thing that you hope is a joke, if only to spare the blushes of whoever’s involved. Ostensibly a South African rave-rap crew, internet rumours abound that this is far from earnest. That wouldn’t be such an issue if the tracks were any good (think Half Man Half Machine by Goldie Lookin’ Chain), but essentially all they have going for them is the novelty factor of a South African voice dropping rhymes. Flipping awful. 2/5

Aeroplane – Superstar

It’s like Billy Joel never went away. This opens with some of the poppiest pianos you’ve ever heard, shortly followed by a vocoded vocal line that’s straight out of the ’70s. The problem with this is not what’s there, but what isn’t – it’s riding that whole French disco vibe but doesn’t really go anywhere. I fear it might be a grower though, and it certainly presses all the right buttons. For the record, those buttons are “French”, “vocoder” and “bit poppy”. 3/5

Harper Simon – Berkeley Girl

Paul Simon’s son with Paul Simon’s guitar, singing a Paul Simon song with the voice of Paul Simon. It’s pleasant enough stuff but you’re getting nothing from this that his dad hasn’t done already, and in a world populated with entirely too much of this acoustic singer songwriter nonsense we don’t really need another Paul Simon in the mix. 1/5

Foals – Spanish Sahara

Despite sort of already coming out (it was released to radio as a teaser for Total Life Forever at the beginning of the year), Foals have seen fit to remix, slap some strings on and re-release this track. I love the original, which is a six minute long epic with plenty of waves and build up. Crammed into a three minute radio edit, it loses a lot of what made it enjoyable in the first place. I also don’t think the orchestra adds anything to it – up against the electronic aspects of the track it really grates and makes it a lot busier than it needs to be. Bit of a shame really – you’ll find the album version a great deal more satisfying. 2/5

Manic Street Preachers – (It’s Not War) Just the End of Love

Cor blimey, the Manics are back, and they’re making a beeline for the Radio 2 playlist. Abandoning the sound from last album Journal for Plague Lovers and going back to that ghastly sort of setup they had for that song with her off The Cardigans, this is firmly pitched to be played quite a lot on the radio. And it probably will be. I love the Manics, The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go especially, but there’s something about this new sound that feels at odds with what they’ve done before. The last album showed they still had their edge, and it baffles me as to why they’ve thrown that away in favour of this – strings, big choruses and the feeling of being slightly average. 3/5

Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep

It’s fantastic to have Edwyn Collins back and making music after the illnesses he’s suffered, and a change up in direction has him sounding almost back to his best. While the voice isn’t what it used to be, it’s still there and still unmistakably him. The Motown-esque backbeat compliments this though, and as a stomp along rock and roll song it’s not bad at all. Nice saxes, too. 4/5

Yeasayer – Madder Red

One of the finer slices from Odd Blood, but not necessarily the most accessible which mean it gets a release as the third single. It’s actually my favourite out of the lot – the “ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh”s are entrancing rather than annoying, and the midtempo groove gives the tune room to breath. I’m also reliably informed there’s another mental video on the way for this track as well, which is always appreciated. Top stuff. 5/5 and the Bitter Fingers Single of the Week.

That’s all you’re getting from me this week.