As you'll read in Jon Solomon's profile of Air Dubai in this week's issue, the bandmembers were all set to release an EP they had recorded earlier this summer at Colorado Sound with JP Manza (Epilogues, Vonnegut) when Flobots guitarist Andy Guerrero convinced them to head up to the Blasting Room in Fort Collins to record a full-length.
Great call. With the help of Guerrero, who produced the disc, and the studio aces at the Blasting Room, Jason Livermore and Andrew Berlin, Air Dubai emerged with one hell of an album. And it's just that: an album, eleven songs that hang together very nicely.
If you're anything like us, you'll be hard-pressed to nail down which track is your favorite. (We're bananas about the whole album, but particularly "I Know How," "Weekends" and "Anything at All.") And that's mostly thanks to the band's deft musicianship and the indelible hooks of Jon Shockness, whose ultra-smooth croon sears the melodies into your consciousness while simultaneously elevating the confident cadence of his counterpart, Julian Thomas.
The overall chemistry between the two is notable. With an interplay akin to that of Bruno Mars and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes -- an outfit Air Dubai is often compared to, for better or worse -- the two magnetic frontmen bring their style together in a way that's both complementary and compelling. Keep a steady eye on this young seven-piece.
Air Dubai Wonder Age
01. Restless Youth 02. I Know How 03. Weekends 04. Warm Days 05. Love in Retrograde 06. Anything at All 07. City of Lights 08. Ten Weeks 09. More Lazers 10. Black & White 11. Modern Gold
