Review Summary: A feast greater than boiled goose with Santana champagne, this is musical comedy with longevity.
It’s finally here.
You’ve seen the infamous Christmas gift from JT and Andy Samberg.
You’ve seen Samberg and cohort Jorma Taccone deal with premature ejaculation in a Pet Shop Boys homage.
You’ve probably just seen Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and T-Pain on a boat together, too.
But only now, after their cult following has more or less exploded, have the Lonely Island stepped up to create their debut album,
Incredibad. Hands down funnier than anything that Saturday Night Live has done overall in quite some time, there’s certain to be something to your liking over the nineteen songs and skits on offer- no matter what your kind of comedy.
Given the longevity of TLI as a production team, it’s no surprise that
Incredibad’s tracklisting is not entirely new. Fans are certain to recognise “Lazy Sunday” and “Natalie’s Rap”, Digital Shorts from a few years back. Including them on record at this point may seem a little pointless, but for the uninitiated they’re certainly still entertaining- the former is a parody of underground/hardcore hip-hop with the nerdiest possible lyrical themes; the latter a shock on first listen as Natalie Portman, of all people, one-ups Yo Majesty in terms of filthy rap verses: “P is for Portman!/P is for Pussy!/I'll kill your f
ucking dog for fun/So don't push me!".
On that note, the cameos that occur throughout the album assist the variety of musical styles and humour even further. Whether it’s Jack Black (no stranger to comedy music as Tenacious D’s frontman) telling the story of an infant saxophone virtuoso, or T-Pain taking a minute to make fun of the songs he is well known for appearing on, there’s not a guest here that upsets the balance. Even the woman personally responsible for some of the most lifeless and dull music of this century, Norah Jones, adds an irony-laden sweetness to her hook in “Dreamgirl”. The pick of the lot, however, has to be Julian Casablancas, normally of the Strokes. Here, he’s found crooning a self-described “cautionary tale” of the power that the “Boombox” has. His liquored, distinctive range is a welcome addition to the dub-inspired track, and his appearance rivals his contribution to “My Drive Thru” as the best thing he’s done recently.
Rap and hip-hop are the dominant musical style on
Incredibad. As stated on the title track by the trio themselves: “We wanna be the greatest fake MCs on earth”. At this stage, there isn’t a great deal to contend with their title. The reason their delivery works so well is how firmly straight-faced and intensely they can spit line such as “*** land/I’m on a BOAT, mother***er!” and “Every day for lunch/They eat boiled goose!”. The contrast is not exactly original, neither is it rocket science. Regardless, there’s an art to it, and the band know exactly how it works. When TLI rap as characters, it’s even better- Schaffer and Taccone as Guy #1 and Guy #2 on “We Like Sportz” nail cringe-worthy flow and the best anti-chorus of the year thus far. Samberg’s turn as a Snoop Dogg-esque egomaniac on “Like A Boss”, as well, is painfully, gut-bustingly funny.
Parodies and send-ups are plentiful, too. Forced masculinity (“We Like Sportz”), materialism (“I’m On A Boat”), oversensitivity in regards to petty insults (“Who Said We’re Wack?”) and drug highs (“Shrooms”) are all on the target list. Each is done with sharp writing, typical of experienced comedy writers, but with musical flair that give the lyrics spacious flow and over-the-top emphasis reminiscent of everyone from Lil Jon to the Beastie Boys.
It’s easy to be optimistic about
Incredibad- indeed, there’s plenty here to keep your optimism going. Naturally, however, not everything that TLI attempts works in their favour. “Normal Guy” is just plain weird, its humour strictly limited; whilst “Space Olympics” can’t even be saved by the hook “It’s the motherf
ucking space Olympics!” from being just plain irritating. “Dreamgirl” has a funny premise (falling in love with an insane/retarded woman), but not enough genuinely funny ideas to keep it going. Nineteen tracks is also quite an ask, even for a comedy album where every track clocks in below three and a half minutes.
No matter how funny some tracks are, you’re still left questioning how funny they’ll be in a few years’ time. But right now? It doesn’t matter in the slightest.
Incredibad is a worthy addition to all CD collections, best comedy album lists and even Valentine’s Day gift lists.
Get your towels ready.
It’s about to go DOWN.
