Artist: EdTang & The Chops
Album: Goodbye, Zen5, Sushi Dinner
Genre: Folk, Americana, Punk
RIYL: Frank Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan

New Jersey’s EdTang & The Chops released their newest album, Goodbye, Zen5, Sushi Dinner, the moment this year began. Taking a much different direction than they had on their previous release, Songs From Under Weigh, the group have created a true memoir of a song collection, sharing honesty, both happy and heartbreaking, in nostalgic stories and personal memories throughout the album’s 9 tracks spanning one half of an hour. The instrumentation backing EdTang’s rugged vocals make for Americana folk-punk stylings that really add to the effect of the lyrical content. Think Alkaline Trio meets Frank Turner.

Goodbye, Zen5, Sushi Dinner opens with “Vaya,” a retrospective piece that chronicles a life-changing trip to South America in a catchy three-minute track that sets the album off to a great start. EdTang recently told us, “We started our journey in Costa Rica, flew to Brazil and then worked our way around the west coast where we ended in Peru. My friend met a girl there and roughly 8 years later they would be married. It was an amazing trip and it most certainly changed each of our lives. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything in the world and every time I play that song I get to relive it.”

For the most part, this is an album about facing the realities of growing up and all that they entail; the hard truths, the letdowns, the surprises, the love and the memories. It’s an album that touches primarily on nostalgia and loss like in the powerful “Just Two Old Friends,” the album’s longest track (by 1 second), and easily its most beautifully touching piece. Harmonica always does it for me. “Crow Till We Croak” is a similar offering in sound and stands out as one of the effort’s strongest tracks with heart oozing from every line, backed by the impressive instrumentation found throughout the entirety of Goodbye, Zen5, Sushi Dinner. The song is propelled in quality by excellent backing vocals making for a pretty, melodic duet. One particular line, “We were growing up / now we’re just getting old,” may be one of the best in the album to sum up its entire theme.

There are a lot of alt-country influences portrayed through the wide array of musicians that contributed to the album and one of its biggest attractions is the precise instrumental layering. Many assorted instruments were used throughout such as tiny bits of xylophone on the mid-piece, “My Whole Life,” a heart-on-the-sleeve sing-along full of shell-shed vulnerability. While majority of the album may feel melancholic, weary, and worldly aware in tone, “Lincoln” is one such track that is far more upbeat with piano like a “Crocodile Rock.” More variety is found in the album’s seventh track, “Pualei,” fronted by beautiful vocals from Andrea Scanniello, wrapped up in a slow burning effort of banjo-driven folk, only elevated in pace by vibrant Bright Eyes-like bridges.

Great stories, real emotion, and fantastic instrumental contributions make Goodbye, Zen5, Sushi Dinner one hell of an album from this Asbury Park outfit. The familiar themes make it relatable and the honesty gains your respect. At even a brief 30 minutes, you get a lot for your time and the immediate urge to listen through again. I look forward to the future of EdTang & The Chops.

SCORE: 8.5/10
Review written by: Brian Lion – Follow him on Twitter

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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