Sometimes I listen to a band I’ve never heard before and something about them just ticks the right boxes in my head despite me not quite understanding why. Small Arms Dealer have managed to do just that. The Long island quintets debut full-length ‘Patron Saint of Disappointment’ blasts through 13 tracks of balls to the wall melodic punk rock that will take you back to days gone by where Mohawks beat floppy fringes 10-to-1.
Every song contains a brutal honesty and openness that screams out ‘fight the system.’ ‘Whole Company’s Countin’ On Ya’ is a battle cry against the 9-5 office job that will ring clear and true to anyone who’s ever tried to make any sort of a living out of being in a band, whilst ‘Small Arms Dealer Makes Baby Jesus Cry’ probably achieves just that… and yeh… religion, death, anti-establishment: we’ve heard it all before, but who cares. SAD deliver the message with the guile and passion of a band not willing to give in to the modern world just yet, and as long as you’ve an open mind and a pair of ears you’ll be donning the old patches and pins quicker than you can say ‘Harry Houdini Says No And Proves It.’
Rich Rowe