There has always been a discernible veil over even the goofiest songs from Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, a shield that often cloaks painful subject matter in humor and volume. On Ca$h Grab, this covering is nearly transparent as the band wears their heart on their sleeve, delivering their deepest, most raw, and most direct album to date while never compromising on their signature sound. And, in utilizing "poppier" tones, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol has found the perfect vehicle with which to incorporate a massive infusion of sweetness and vulnerability. 

Ca$h Grab boasts fourteen tracks and, although they're all relatively short and sweet, each song possesses a clear-cut identity. Freakshow opens the album in a powerfully poignant way, moving the listener with delicate, desolate verses before slamming them into a wall of that massive, trademark Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol sound. Tracks such as I Doubt It and The Disappearing Man are easily the most infectious, featuring an irresistible sing-song lilt and memorable choruses. Peaches, the first single the band released from Ca$h Grab, really seems to sum up the attitude of the album. While combining gritty darkness and saccharine melody in heavy syrup, RBBP smiles through broken teeth as they remind us "life is full of peaches." 

My favorite songs on the album are arguably the deepest lyrically, and these tracks tend to hit me on a very personal level. Follow Through, for example, provides some of the most direct lyricism on Ca$h Grab, boldly confronting dysfunctional family dynamics. While noticeably confident in its delivery, the song is simultaneously heart-rending: 

Bough Down is another revealing track on which the tone is painfully raw and fed up as the lyrics confront a loved one who struggles/struggled with addiction: 

Appearing at the very end of the album, fourteenth track Lush brings it all together, taking a comprehensive look at having to grow up too fast followed by periods of struggle. In spite of this, the narrator takes his share of the accountability as he realizes this trauma, while undeniably part of him, doesn't define him:

It's safe to say that the band achieved this goal and then some with their new album, the memorably titled Too Hard For Some Too Soft For Others, released by Pink Tank Records on October 3, 2026. The tones of this release rise from a soul of fuzzed-out, analog 70s rock, a rich sound that envelops the listener with perpetual warmth. However, it's the heart of Too Hard For Some Too Soft For Others - Oakfarm's raw and unfettered emotional expression - that's the star here. Beautifully conveyed by vocals and instrumentals alike, this passion is always projected in a powerful but organic manner. And, while the noticeably heart wrenching songs are arguably the most standout for their sheer emotional impact, Oakfarm isn't creating a drama here; the album is still super energetic, with pockets of vibrant, live show-ready surges of pure groove dotted throughout. By unabashedly wearing their hearts on their sleeves while expanding upon their knack for feel-good retro rock, the boys of Oakfarm have ultimately created a collection of songs that has the power to be a go-to for any mood. 

Another Sun possesses one of the most dimensional sounds I've ever heard in heavy underground music. The Machine has a knack for hooking their listeners with soaring, memorable alternative rock phrases and mesmerizing them with passages of the trance-inducing repetition of heavy psych before launching them directly into a solid wall of rumbling, spaced-out stoner/doom sound. Not content to stop there, the band also delights in twists and turns, dropping us into more delicate atmospheres that range from eerie and vast to dreamlike and serene. Guitar tones effortlessly move from coarse and gritty to cold and steely to warm and golden, diffusing like sunbeams through glass. The steadfast bass is truly the backbone of the sound, providing a reliable, and often somewhat sinister stoner groove no matter where the mood of Another Sun goes. Adaptable percussion goes with the flow, energetically and organically crashing along in the more jammy excursions but tightening up at the drop of a hat during tense moments. The vocals are melodic and relatively even-keeled, reminiscent of the post grunge era, which underlines the soothing, hypnotic qualities of The Machine's sound. As a matter of fact, vocals often take a back seat on Another Sun as free-flowing instrumental expanses frequently and very naturally emerge, especially in the two longest songs found at the end of the album. While one could easily say that The Machine incorporates a lot of moving parts on Another Sun, the natural, instinctive manner in which it all unfurls is most impressive, indicative of a band whose musical prowess and creative chemistry have zeroed in on the perfect balance. 

New Jersey-based stoner rockers Shovelhead have released their first new music in over twenty years with their fourth album A Place of Dead Roads. The album explodes right out of the gate with timeless, riff-driven stoner rock underlined by punchy energy and groove. This atmosphere quickly blends with a strong presence of vintage heavy rock, adding an abundance of warmth to Shovelhead's tone as it unfurls like a ribbon of sun-parched highway, an image made even more vivid by long instrumental stretches. Naturally, heavy psych makes an appearance, delivering refreshing waves of hypnotic trippiness that tend to get stronger in the latter half of the album. To add to their immersive sound, completely capable of standing on its own instrumentally, Shovelhead is graced by a powerful vocalist whose echoing, unrestrained intonations are often less about melody and all about raw expression. Taken together, all of these elements create a rollicking ride that seems to end far too soon, hooking the listener from start to finish with the driving energy of classic stoner, the timeless grooves of heavy rock, and cool splashes of psychedelia. 

You can read my review of the album here.

Favorite Track: Witching Hour

I've said it before, I'm no wordsmith when it comes to writing about the captivating complexities of prog, but it would be absolutely criminal not to mention Zeitgeist on the Run, the new album from Dutch progressive psych maestros Iron Jinn. This intricately layered, ultra-immersive sonic journey is packed with trippy tension and surreal twists and turns that will not only effortlessly draw you in but will leave you marveling at the stellar musicianship you hear while in your inevitable trance. My favorite thing about Zeitgeist on the Run, however, is its persistently eerie quality, delivering a perfectly spine-chilling listening experience that keeps you on your toes. As I could never do this album justice with my own words, I'll happily refer you to Stoner Hive for that, where the one and only Ronny Dijksterhuis has penned a beautiful encomium to Zeitgeist on the Run.

Favorite Track: Landing on a Dream