B+
Wyatt Cenac’s latest album finds the funny in world-weariness
In the audiobook version of That Is All, the final book in John Hodgman’s gloriously detailed trilogy of fake knowledge…
Comedy
B-
Taylor Negron isn’t exactly himself on this posthumous collection
When comedian and character actor Taylor Negron died back in January, his passing registered with a lot more people…
B+
On Effable, Guy Branum imbues observational humor with personal pain
In a recent New York Times editorial addressing the outrage (and counter-outrage) over fellow comic and Daily Show heir…
B+
Eddie Pepitone’s latest comedy album is a delightfully cutting sermon
Eddie Pepitone has a gift for predicting disaster. Much of his comedy album In Ruins (taking its name and much of its…
B+
Brooks Wheelan goes absurd, honest on debut album This Is Cool, Right?
There’s something fascinating about digging into the work of a comedian who was fired from Saturday Night Live. It adds…
A-
With Big Dumb Animal, Matt Braunger takes on the dregs of masculinity
While not a theme album exactly, Big Dumb Animal is a lengthy—18 tracks, 67 minutes—meditation on the various,…
C+
Doug Benson’s latest album is a fans-only proposition
If there’s any evidence that marijuana makes you more productive, comedian Doug Benson is Exhibit A. Case in point:…
B
100% Half Assed highlights the storytelling abilities of Ian Edwards
100% Half Assed may be the debut comedy album from Ian Edwards, and the first to be released on Conan O’Brien’s new…
B-
The Sklar Brothers’ latest album is always frenzied and sometimes funny
Lesser comedians than Randy and Jason Sklar would make more hay out of the fact that they’re identical twins, but it…
B+
Jim Gaffigan’s new album shows off his underrated technique
Less than a minute into his new album, Obsessed, Jim Gaffigan proclaims proudly, “I’m fat.” Jim Gaffigan, though, is…
A-
Aziz Ansari becomes the Malcolm Gladwell of stand-up comedy. (And that’s a good thing.)
The definitive Aziz Ansari facial expression has introduced each episode of Parks And Recreation since the start of…
B
Kurt Braunohler: How Do I Land?
About a third of the way into How Do I Land?, the debut album from Los Angeles stand-up Kurt Braunohler, he lays out…
Maria Bamford: Ask Me About My New God!
On her last album, 2009’s fantastic Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome, Maria Bamford used her considerable skill as a comedian…
Andy Kaufman: Andy And His Grandmother
Anyone familiar with the late comedian and provocateur Andy Kaufman should view a “comedy album” released nearly 30…
Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male
Kumail Nanjiani could easily be “that guy.” He could be the Pakistani guy, joking about his otherness in America, his…
Myq Kaplan: Meat Robot
In 2010, Myq Kaplan had multiple channels at his disposal to prove his cleverness and fondness for wordplay—basically,…
Mike Lawrence: Sadamantium
Mike Lawrence peruses pop culture the way a vegan peruses a fast-food menu: with vigilance bordering on insanity. His…
A-
Pete Holmes: Nice Try, The Devil
Pete Holmes would be the first to say that he’s not just a white guy, he’s the epitome of “white guy”; on an episode of…
B+
Chris Hardwick: Mandroid
The gospel according to Chris Hardwick states that there are nerds, and there are nerdists. A nerd is everything our…
A-
Anthony Jeselnik: Caligula
It takes chutzpah to name a debut Shakespeare, in part because it invites critics to complain that while subsequent…