Los Angeles, California based rock outfit Rising Elijah has the grit and gifts to pull off what so few are able; They can restore a sense of order and possibility to a genre whose future looks increasingly moribund as the years unravel. This is commercial moribundity, mind you, not artistic. It isn’t to say that there are not a plethora of rock units popping up in bars, theaters, and arenas across the world on a given night. There isn’t a single modern rock band, however, seemingly able to capture the public’s imagination in the manner their esteemed predecessors enjoy. They tread water, instead. Rising Elijah’s new single “Strike ‘Em Where They Lie”, however, supplies ample evidence that there’s plenty of life yet in this music.
Perhaps even modern ground to be broken as well. Rising Elijah boasts that they couple a modern sound with a vintage attack. On the face, this may sound like a burst of PR gobbledygook, but Elijah backs it up. “Strike ‘Em Where They Live” is an up-tempo blazer that romps with head-down and barreling straight ahead attitude. The no-frills riff oriented approach certainly has its share of antecedents throughout rock history, but Rising Elijah delivers it with raw-boned signature authority.
The vocals share the same no frills approach. Chase Enriquez’s vocals scale familiar hard rock heights, but you can’t even deem him mere imitation. Enriquez, instead, brings to each line a swagger with mean intentions backing up every syllable. He has presence, most importantly, and inhabits the words with a sense of purpose and gravitas sorely missing from mainstream rock today.
It’s important to note Elijah’s potential. They can cross over to mainstream success without ever compromising their principles. Rising Elijah lays such a solid groundwork for this song that their musical identities are unquestionably parts of their DNA. To put it bluntly, they play it like they mean it. Elijah roars out of the starting gate here and doesn’t look back until “Strike ‘Em Where They Lie” is burned into the brain.
The song’s production packs quite a punch and the track practically blows listeners out of their seats. Work behind the board has recorded Rising Elijah in all their full-blown humbucker glory and keeps a hard-hitting balance going between the band’s component parts. There’s a clear understanding about how to get the band’s live sound without reducing the results to a muddy mess. Production jobs such as this are essential for a modern rock band to catch people’s attention. Manageable length is an important factor as well and “Strike ‘Em Where They Lie”
They’ve played several important venues since first forming in 2019. The Viper Room in West Hollywood and Ventura’s The Garage Bar are local mainstays where Rising Elijah unleashed their talents on perhaps unsuspecting listeners. They continue paving their way towards a bright future with the new single “Strike ‘Em Where they Lie” and it bodes well for the band’s forthcoming EP release. That’s likely to be another feather in Rising Elijah’s cap.
Chadwick Easton