Scorned Artist, Scorched Earth: Elevated Undergrounds Release “Less Than”

A little over a year ago, Elevated Undergrounds hit the Vegas music scene and hit the ground running. In just one year, they’ve released four singles and played countless shows both in and out of state. The combination of this strong work ethic, electrifying live shows, and quality songwriting has all culminated in a fast rise to prominence within the scene.

This four piece grunge rock band, composed of Joe Kennedy on drums, June Bee on bass, Fez Reyes on lead guitar, and Gabbi Fischer on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, are continuing their steady output with a newly released fifth single, their rawest one yet, “Less Than.”

As “Less Than” opens, it slowly draws the listener into its bleak soundscape with a steady backbeat. After a few measures of this funeral march, dreary acoustic and electric guitars fall in line with bass and drums. Any possible light in the room vanishes as Gabbi’s vocals appear, acting as a guide through the darkness.

Her downtrodden voice simmers with restrained rage, delivering such scathing lines as, “I can’t bear to see her face, Demonic illusions fill the space,” with audacious grit. Behind each lethal line she recites, the band continues to build towards the song’s pivotal tipping point. Instruments subside as Gabbi delivers the song’s name sake lyric in solitude, “Duality is born in man, but I can see that you’re less than.” Venom drips off of every last word, ushering the band back into a fervor filled, blistering instrumental onslaught to the end. Ghostly wails harmonize over thunderous, room-stomping performances as June and Joe lock in on bass and drums. We have one final respite; fading, breathless vocals dissipate and set the stage for Fez’s closing guitar solo. Dropping in like an atom bomb, the last two minutes of this single are burned through with rapid incendiary rounds shot from Fez’s six stringed weapon as he and the band leave behind nothing but scorched earth.

“Less Than” accomplishes something special in music. It tells a passionate, personal truth and elevates its message through every facet of the tune. Each layer; the lyrics, the guitar, the bass, the drums, all build on top of each other to help convey this mood of grief and resentment. It’s this intimate edge that has accrued and unified Elevated Underground’s fans and hopefully something they continue to build upon in their highly anticipated upcoming album, Drowning Spree, set to be released later this year. Until then, we’ll be having this single on repeat at full blast.