Right after I completed my first listen of MYQ KAPLAN’S new comedy album A.K.A (a recording of his critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival show) , I realized that truly appreciating this comedy album could be compared to watching a season of the German Netflix sci-fi thriller known as Dark. (No, this is not an advertisement for said series, but after this review, your curiosity may inevitably be peaked if you have not yet endeavored to tackle the Winden mystery.) When you first start watching Dark, you are blissfully ignorant of the information cliff you are about to step over. Like bits on a comedy album, you slowly savor every morsel of information as it enters your brain’s pleasure centers. Before you know it, the connections start to build, block by block, forming larger and larger clusters, soon amassing into a family tree of associations pointing to a greater truth. Like Dark, the comedy album A.K.A. can easily be enjoyed at face value, without triggering a domino effect of synapse tingling, perception-enhancing understandings. However, there’s so much more fun to be had if that cascade effect is joyously triggered. Just like the medicinal, psychedelic, hallucinogenic drug Myq references on the A.K.A. track “Ayahuasca, The Amazon, and the Other Amazon,” both Dark and this album are capable of connecting you to the universe in ways you never imagined, as long as you allow them to. And, yes, that’s a good thing.
You’ll notice I mentioned there was a “first listen” of the album. This is the kind of album that begs for repeated plays. Each new listen will unleash connections and/or insights you may not have detected before. For example, when I first experienced the “Nickelback, Pagliacci the Clown, and Jesus Again (He Keeps Coming Back)” track, I found it funny and clever that Kaplan surveyed the audience to find out if any of them could even sing one Nickelback song (after first polling their Nickelback favorability). It wasn’t until the second listen, that I realized I too retained a disdain for the band without ever being able to retain one song. Mind blown! Upon second listen, I also found myself browser searching a lot of the subject matter covered on the album to learn more than I’d already soaked up. Included in my search history, you will now find the words “Moe’s,” “First Amendment,” “Tennessee,” “Buddhism,” “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” “Smurf,” “vegan,” “gnocchi,” “Pagliacci,” and, of course, “Ayahuasca.” Hopefully, the FBI are not currently making their own associations from this knowledge collection.
If it’s not already abundantly clear, I highly recommend Myq Kaplan’s new album, and not just because of my personal revelations. The album covers topics that will interest a wide breadth of listeners (consult tracks “Religion, Science, and Kanye” and “Bravery, High School, and Gnocchi” as evidence). The album leaves no jokes unresolved. Please consider the callback Nickelback,” “Buddhist Clue,” and “Bathroom Humor” jokes as exhibits A, B, and C. Finally, while the album is a hilarious, quick-witted journey that could easily lead one down an unending rabbit hole of self-realization, it reigns one in with it’s love, acceptance and powerful “Kombucha” of comedic healing. Enjoy!
Mentions: You can pick up A.K.A. HERE. Learn more about Mike THERE. Socially distanced follow him on F/B, Twitter, and Instagram.