Bodega
“Pick up the Check”
Release Date: May 6, 2026
(Chrysalis Records)
By Scott Deckman
Goddamn Ben Hozie. Just when you think you might give’m a spanking, his entrenched sense of the hook bails him out. On first listen, “Pick up the Check” doesn’t register other than it’s slightly — and oddly — danceable, but upon further review, the cultural critiquer makes it work, mostly. Instead of conspicuous consumption, now he’s singing about the dangers of complacency when it means stalled progress. Following last year’s impressive hardcore outing as Nodega, this one feels back in the Bodega ballpark. “Pick up the Check” features guitars both angular and big, and Hozie’s literate Anthony Keidis rap. But really. Pick up the check, punk. Dine-and-dashers need their head checked… by an ultralight at least.
