Flight to Dubai have had a busy few years, making a name for themselves as a passionate and frantic live act who churn out consistently good garage-punk. While their aim has always been true, with dramatic, powerful vocals, fiery guitar and a frantic rhythm section, the band have really come into their own on their latest EP Strife.

Our first taste of the band’s reconstructed sound came last December with ‘Crycentennial Man’, a Devo-esque harkening back to the proto-punk of the early seventies that served as a strong foot in the door to bring attention to their new material. Next along came EP opener ‘Firefighter Lady’, a raucous charge of a song, brimming with a chaotic garage-rock energy and simultaneously anchored by the band’s precision - a feat of musical acrobatics that is a wonder to behold.

The rest of Strife finds Flight to Dubai completely leaning into their strengths, as they carve a space from themselves as a reinvented band while staying true to the origins. There’s no denying that vocalist Atlas Abell steals the show, his howling drawl dripping with slapback delay, bringing to mind early rock n roll heroism. But it’s the band behind him that really make Strife what it is - constantly heaving and spluttering from beginning to end, it’s charismatic, tumultuous and at times, completely reckless, and makes the entire listen a thrillingly wild experience.

To unravel the chaos, we had Flight to Dubai talk us through some of the main influences on Strife.




Flamingo - Flamin’ Groovies

Nick (drums): Flamin’ Groovies’ Flamingo made me do it. It’s a record full of loose rock n roll that keeps it simple and was recorded live. There’s studio chatter, mistakes, thumping drums and meaty guitars. The record sounds like a fast car.

The first time I heard it I jumped up on a table and kicked everything off without skipping a beat (in my head I did anyway); a triumphant entry into the world of the Groovies. I don’t really know much about them except they’re a badass looking crew of cookers that made a corker record.

Flamin’ Groovies made me do it because they mixed songs like ‘High Flyin’ Baby’ and ‘She’s Fallin’ Apart’ seamlessly into a record without ever losing steam. Flamin’ Groovies made me do it because ‘Headin’ To The Texas Border’ makes me want to have sex in the front seat of a car going full throttle towards a cliff, even though I hate those romanticised ideas of rock n roll. I’m also a pretty mellow dude.

Flamin’ Groovies made me do it.


New York Dolls - 'Looking For A Kiss'

Wayland (guitar): There's movement in Sylvain Sylvains' rhythm guitar playing that gives the New York Dolls their strut while Johnny Thunders' coarse lead guitar work emphasises and attacks any gaps. The perfect concoction of their signature guitar work is most present in their song 'Looking For A Kiss' and I can't help but get excited by the way they make their guitars move together. That's what made me do it. The whole of Strife takes on much more of a rock n roll direction when it comes to guitar playing, and for that I owe it all to the New York Dolls.

While being the sole guitarist in this band, and still un-interested in recording lead guitar overdubs, the writing in Strife achieves a certain groove in itself by my attempt at playing both rhythm and lead guitar parts at once; it's something I can no longer kick when it comes to writing. In every song, there's a similar movement in the guitar playing, I've either fitted bluesy lead lines in between the chords, or added 7th notes to chords to make the song jerk on the off beats. It’s really tricks taken from Chuck Berry's or Kieth Richards' style of guitar playing, but it's the Doll's novice interpretation of these styles that excite me most, and has a great influence on the guitar playing in Strife.


The Pleasure Principle - Gary Numan

Atlas (vocals): Numan’s dark and introspective lyrics are something that I have been delving into wildly during the writing and production of this EP - the shameless and esoteric nature of The Pleasure Principle especially resonating with me and aligning with my own writing on Strife. I was introduced to Numan in my early teen years by my mother and only really rediscovered his work after hearing Low Life’s ‘Emmie’ from Dogging while we were on tour some time ago and falling back into that incredible synth line. His lyrics are isolating and stoic but juxtaposed so well with his simple and pleasantly balanced vocal melodies, they just envelope me.


Roy Orbison - ‘In Dreams’


Atlas: Orbo’s always been the loneliest rock n roller to me and a treat to listen to. I recall his dulcet tones sitting in the thick air of a rural summer night drive and different tracks nostalgically associated with past events in my life. It was difficult to choose a particular track but I ended up landing on ‘In Dreams’ for its overall composition - the semi spoken vocal intro, the futile operatic yearning for an old flame through crescendoing verses and choruses and the tidal wave of instruments behind it leave me floored every time.


Dinosaur Jr - ‘Little Fury Things’

Atlas: J. Mascis’ writing dynamics are something to behold. This track opens Dinosaur Jr’s seminal You’re Living All Over Me, the album I was listening to when I first read Stephen King’s Carrie - the sullen, monotonous slacker vocals embracing the themes of being ostracised and misunderstood throughout the novel in perfect harmony. Every time I listen to this song it’s like reopening an unhealed wound (in the best way), each section whizzing by like cut sutures until you’re bleeding out on the floor like a dropped tin of beetroot.


Royal Headache
 - 'Stand and Stare'

Beau (bass): I’m a sucker for RH’s infectious soul-pop hooks, bright and gritty mix, dark and joyful subject matter. ‘Stand and Stare’ is from their A-side release in 2013. I came across it years ago and like to draw subtle nuances from how each instrument interwinds to produce an overtone wall of sound. The simple yet exhilarating approach of inversions and arpeggiated runs inspired me during the last track of the EP 'Cement'.