On Small Arms Dealer’s “A Single Unifying Theory,” the New York five-piece harks back to an age of socially unapologetic tattoos, ass-stomping Docs and the obligatory sleeveless tee. From the starting line, Deep Elm’s bad-boy indie outfit delivers a raucous blend of mayhem-inducing tunes that would fit right in on a billing at an ’80s punk joint.
Spawned on the beer-soaked stages of New York’s underground, the Long Island castaways try their darndest to alienate and offend the masses with singer Lubrano’s delightful concoction of expletive-laden screams and blasphemous ramblings, all delivered with the guttural moan of a lyrical maniac.
Mirthfully unapologetic, Small Arms Dealer revels in its own lavish debauchery, spitting out lines on suicide, drug addiction and other fine explications of life’s dingier side.
Formed in the spring of 2004, the crew of island jammers take time off of their long list of B-side projects — A Boy Called Spite, Box, Contra, Fellow Project, On The Might Of Princes, God’s Gift To Women, Shakey Hand and With Every Idle Hour to name a few — to write and record this 12-song musical masterpiece for the damned.
On “A Single Unifying Theory," Small Arms Dealer plays to the hopeless, dropping rhymes to desperate souls: “I'm caught in a nose dive/ no one escapes/ no one makes it out alive/ just like a fire in the mines.” These themes present themselves front and center, offering an uncompromising view into the psyches of five like-mind madmen. But what lyrically comes across as an exploration of the amoral, is musically, well, fun. Small Arms Dealer doesn't take itself too seriously — the CD abounds with titles like “Your Sister's a Werewolf,” and “What Would Bruce Campbell Do?” — and listening to these boys yell and scream fosters the incredible urge to get up and move. Never intending to invent a new genre or compose a poetic epic, this band exists to play loud, fast songs that please the pit.
But to their credit, there are glimpses of ingenuity: Small Arms Dealer attempts to break the mold with its not-so-subtle screamo hooks in a way that other bands have not, incorporating just enough sincerity to keep it authentic.
“A Single Unifying Theory” is essentially old-fashioned: Roaring guitars, rough-cut vocals and rickety drums, pitted against the tangible angst that gives punk its identifiable fire. And in classic “Bro Hymm” style, Lubrano employs the background vocals of drummer Adam Arms, bass thumper Electric Lamar, and guitarists Beaker and Guitarbeard to round out the disc's warm, vinyl feel. While the boys chant the backing chorus, Lubrano rolls from one song to the next, throwing out lyrics on everything from vampires to the afterlife.
Yet despite their unabashed tendency to offend, the disc contains an undefined tenderness that can be heard in songs like “My Headlocks Are (Crazy).” On the track Lubrano raps positive: “The World in the palm of your hand/ you gotta use everything that you got.” Sunny day punk-popper Phil Douglas (Latterman) slicks up the album with a fist full of production tricks, and a few nicely-placed solo jams add depth to this well-crafted CD.
Reared on the gruesome theatrics of the Misfits and other darkly delicious punk groups of yesteryear, these guys have no problem creating their own brand of apocalyptic filth. Prepare to get a little dirty.
For more information on Small Arms Dealer, visit: http://www.smallarmsdealer.net/.