On Patron Saint of Disappointment, Small Arms Dealer dishes out dingy, gruff, and melodic punk rock that isn’t terribly original, but that’s not the point. Sure, the band fell off the Latterman tree into the No Idea camp and broke a leg on the way down, but is that such a bad thing? What Small Arms Dealer lacks in complete originality, they more than make up for with energy and delivery.

Less blistering and uptempo than many of their peers, one might say that some of Patron Saint Of Disappointment borders on “emo” at times. So what? The magic of this album is that it is a bit unconventional. A raw mid-tempo punk album that works? As opposed to the contrary, I believe that the ragged and almost sloppy nature of these songs is intentional and is even more evident by the band’s choice to slow things down and get all sludgy instead of flying forward balls-to-the-wall. An interesting (yet brilliant) move.

I’ll readily admit that I sorta dismissed this one after only a single listen, but after revisiting Patron Saint Of Disappointment, I can’t stop listening to it. This sounds like music made by friends for their friends. It sounds like alcohol, sweat, burnt popcorn, secret crushes, bruised shoulders, basements, and inside jokes. And what a sweet sound it is.

MP3 | Small Arms Dealer – ‘Whole Company’s Countin’ On Ya’ Patron Saint Of Disappointment

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