Small Arms Dealer

Patron Saint Of Disappointment

[4/5]


If you imagine an extremely under-produced combination of early Rise Against and Strike Anywhere, you may have some sense of the raw, melodically inclined punk rock spat out by Long Island fivesome Small Arms Dealer. The three-year-old band shift between raging, aggressive tracks railing against organized religion (the irate “Who Farted?” and the obviously titled “Fuck You And The Cross You Rode In On”) and slower, thoughtful commentary on the human condition (the fatalistic “Oh, My Stars And Martyrs!”). There’s a clear, overarching message of anti-Christianity-or at least anti-preaching of such-throughout the disc, a facet that will be off-putting to some and attractive to others, particularly as singer Lubrano yelps, “There is no God/Just my friends and me/And no one has to die for our beliefs/And no one goes to hell if they disagree” on “Who Farted?”. As long as no one puts them on tour with Underoath, Small Arms Dealer should do fine. (DEEP ELM; ) Emily Zemler