ATP! Album Review: Air Dubai - Warning EP

I don’t know much about Air Dubai other than the fact that they’re from Denver, there are six members, they’re opening for Marianas Trench on their upcoming US tour and they seem to be incredibly modest. How so? In the opening paragraph of their about section on Facebook, they proclaim that their appeal doesn’t lie in their music, but that it “lies in its members’ passion for the music they create, as well as their love for the people who come to see them perform.” Now, while this very well may be true to a point, upon listening to the group’s Warning EP, it’s fairly safe to say that the music is every bit as appealing. Maybe even more so.

In a day and age where it’s hard to create something that isn’t compared to something else, it seems bands and artists are working to create their own sounds by mixing the sounds of what has already been created. For some bands, it works quite well, and for others... well, not so much. Air Dubai is one of those bands who has made it work. With what I like to refer to as “indie hip hop” making its way to the forefront with the likes of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and twenty | one | pilots, Air Dubai is hitting their stride at the perfect time.

Admittedly the opening track to their five song EP, ‘Warning’ featuring Patricia Lynn (ex The Soldier Thread), is the release’s weakest track but even being the weakest, it still offers enough to catch the attention of listeners. As a typical club track one might assume to be on a hip-hop release, there is a strong electronic undercurrent that hints at where the following four songs are heading from there. (And yes, they only go up from there.)

The clear standout track is ‘Hit The Dark’ which is reminiscent of some of the best ‘80s pop mixed with what Gym Class Heroes should have been. (I don’t know why, but it seriously makes me want to listen to Billy Ocean’s ‘Get Outta My Dreams’.) Add the R&B flair, and ‘Hit The Dark’ shows a glance at the future of Air Dubai. They promise a “heady mix of hip-hop, pop, soul, rock and electronic,” and this song delivers just that.

Have they peaked? No. Do they have everything fleshed out? No. But will they be something great soon? Yes. Yes they will. They’re going in the right direction, and they’re doing it at the right time and they are damn sure delivering with what they do have. This sextet has all the makings of a group that can help the aforementioned artists bridge the gap between mainstream and the lesser recognized genres-- at least, by radio-- and the Warning EP is a clear testament of that.

The only real downfall is that they don’t give us more to listen to.

4/5

Victoria Patneaude

Warning EP will be released on May 21 via Hopeless Records.