45 Adapters & Stomper 98 - Split 7'' (2011)

Tracklist:
01. Stomper 98 - Antisocial
02. Stomper 98 - ISP One Crew-One Family
03. 45 Adapters - What's right?
04. 45 Adapters - Nothing to prove

Released by Randale Records in 2011.

Never been a huge fan of Phil's German sideproject Stomper 98. To be honest i feel sick most times i have to sit through a record of the subgenre that is "German saxophone punk" wether it be Stomper 98 or Stage Bottles (at least their debut album was good). Only thing worse in my ears is the new Dutch/German metal-Oi! but i wont go on about that right here.

The record starts of with "tze germanz" and to my surprise both songs they deliver are actually quite good, especially their ISP anthem. Sure it has saxophone and might be a bit stolen on some edges but it does the job right.

45 adapters always deliver and always make me smile a bit. Few skinhead bands can sound so happy and positive without sounding weak. Best song on the split is Nothing to prove. A song that should speak to most grown men and women wether it might be about not mowing that lawn cause the neighbors did it yesterday or simply walking away from drama. Living for one self basically, killer song.
8/10

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Can still be bought at:
Black Hole Records
Skinflint
Oi!AintDead
Interpunk
Rebellion
Pirates Press
Step-1
Bandworm

45 Adapters - Nothing to prove (Live 2010)

45 adapters - Don't trust anyone who doesn't dance 7'' (2010)

Tracklist:
01. DTAWDD
02. Throw it out
03. Brand new good old days
04. This Xmas

Released by Longshot Records in 2010.

Just like Templars modern sound this is probably more in the veins of mod-rock than anything else but even so 45 Adapters still stay firm to some of their old roots with backup choruses and blazing instrumental parts and to me songs like Good old days are nothing but evolved Oi! for a broadminded crowd. With that said the opening track on this record and their earlier hit called Overtime was the only songs on my wedding last year that came from my punkcrate AND made the people at the party dance, something that few other Oi! bands can do.
Crowdmovers for the mature masses.... hell even my father in law who is an old farmer danced to DTAWDD and that speaks volumes for itself.
9/10

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45 adapters - Not one more day 7'' (2009)

Tracklist:
01. Not one more day
02. The bridge store
03. Metropolitans
04. Overtime

Released by Longshot Music in 2009.

This is as far as i will upload with the band for the time since their other releases are a bit to new to be given away for free by this dirty conniving Swede.

All songs featured on this release where on their earlier demo recordings but this time they have been mastered and perfected. Thats just my problem (the only problem with this great release), songs like Overtime looses a lot of power in this version. On the other hand the song Metropolitans is slightly better in this new version so dont listen to anything i just wrote....
Top album that is almost sold out so be sure to pick it it up while you can.
9/10

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Pick up the real thing from these online distro's:
Dirty Mick Records
Pugmusic

45 adapters - Early demo and practice songs

Tracklist:
01. Tiny bites
02. Overtime
03. Paved
04. One more day
05. Ey you
06. Third time aint the charm
07. Dont trust anyone who doesnt dance
08. Metropolitans
09. The bridge store
10. Who are we kidding

Great NY band that had me hooked since the first time i heard them. One thing i love it is the reinvention of Oi! when it is done good. Mixing R'n'B with oldschool garagerock and Oi! sounds just as good in reality as it does on paper.
Started as a oneman project by Gerrard from Bottom of the barrel under the name of Pickabar many of the songs where created but never released. At the reggae evenings called SPQR he used to do with Phil from Templars (who actually played drums in 45A as a standin for a while) he meet up with old and new friends with the same dream about money, groupies and fast airplanes that the Oi! scene is is known to give you.
The original lineup of the band was Gerrard aka Pickabar on vocals and guitar, Craig on bass (original member of The traditionals), Dave on guitar (original member of Fatskins) and Julio on drums (was later replaced by Pat).
Recording a whole lot of Pickabar's stuff and some new songs in 2008 they had enough songs for their first EP release in 2009 and another one in 2010 (both released through Longshot Music).
The band is still highly active and released a split with Stomper 98 a few weeks ago. Lets hope to see a full-length LP sometime soon.


Distancing themselfs from the gangster attitudes and hardcore influences that has plagued the US scene since day one they have already set themselfs apart in my eyes. But it is when you hear them playing you really notice the evolution.
Some people will probably spit on the computerscreen when they hear me writing about this band and Oi! in the same sentence but i honestly feel that this is the right direction for it to go. Many bands like Brassic, No resistance, Templars and Wellington arms has understood the same thing. Punk needs it's 77ish r'n'r roots back. This band has nothing incommon with those bands but what i am getting at is the fact that they do their own thing (and sound damn good while doing it).

Most of the songs where sent to me by a member of the band back in 2008 and the rest have been downloaded from their old Reverb Nation site. This same member that i talked a bit to over various sites was supposed to send me their first EP in 2009 but when i revealed my plans about doing this site where i would upload anything related to the US skinhead scene (not new stuff offcourse) he never sent me that record and even stopped answering my messages...... i might have cried a bit but since i am a humble character i know that i should never judge a band by the actions of a member and people have the right to NOT act friendly. I know i ignore a lot of messages sent because of this site, not because i dont like the person sending them, mostly because i just dont have the energy to keep up makebelief friendships with people on the other side of the world. Forgotten and forgiven (but whyyyy??).

First thing noticed when listening to their lyrics is the lack of skinhead clichés. Here we see songs about slacking off, dancing and baseball instead of the usual lyrics about workeatsleeprepeat, fighting and football.
Being practice and demo songs these are all of extremly high quality and most of them have never been re-recorded or released to this date. To be honest most of these songs are actually better than they are on the EP's (take Overtime for instance).
The best song of them all is Who are we kidding, a song about growing up and having love lost. Damn strange that the song hasnt been featured on any of the EP's.

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A jolly good Yuletime.

Season greetings from 45 adapters.