***In keeping with the theme of their last release, ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES decided to tackle the proud musical tradition of another country, rather than a specific genre. This time they set their sights on the land of the rising sun, Japan. What a pairing! Japan is the birthplace of Karaoke for pete’s sake! And the Gimmes are the most renowned cover band around (if not for their actual musical chops, at least for their side endeavors [NOFX, LAGWAGON, SWINGIN’ UTTERS, FOO FIGHTERS]). It is truly a match made in heaven, well, except for the minor detail of not knowing how to speak Japanese. The Gimmes didn’t let a little thing like foreign language slow them down, though. SPIKE’s sweet crooning is universally pleasing, as he proves by deftly belting out the six tracks on Sing In Japanese in the dialect in which they were originally written. While the band may have ditched the Hawaiian shirts for matching kimonos this time around, their musical interpretations remain the same. The boys ply their fun-loving, punk rock style to these Japanese classics, resulting in six up-tempo sing-alongs peppered with guitar riffs hotter than wasabi. (STREET DATE - 9/13/2011)