Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

To celebrate the band's 2011 winter tour through Australia, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released this EP, which features covers of some of Australia's best-known artists. It's the first time the punk rock super-group (featuring Swingin' Utters' Spike Slawson, NOFX's Fat Mike, Lagwagon's Joey Cape and No Use for a Name's Jake Jackson) have taken on a group of artists that don't share a genre. By covering a more diverse range of musicians (Olivia Newton-John, INXS, Easy Beat, Rick Springfield and Air Supply), the band manage to add a dose of freshness to what should by now be a tired formula. Of course, critics have been predicting the band's shtick to be wearing thin for years now. Nevertheless, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes work so well because people love pop punk covers. This release might have the most impact on an Australian audience, and newcomers to the band might be better off with one of their full-lengths, but fans of the band will have no reason to complain.