Review: The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
All bets are off, the best album of the year is here
Comedy albums have always been a bit of an odd ‘un, and most of the time deserve quotation marks around the “comedy” bit. In recent times we’ve entered something of a renaissance for the genre, with Kiwis Flight of the Conchords and Saturday Night Live’s Lonely Island trio.
Picking up where the first album left off, Turtleneck & Chain is nineteen tracks of knowingly childish, scatological humour, performed by three guys who sound close to early Beastie Boys’ vocal style, with a slew of insane guest artists.
The previously-released “I Just Had Sex”, a parody of dumb R&B songs featuring uh Akon (who is either extremely self-aware of extremely dumb) is a stand-out, along with “Attracted To Us” featuring (and produced) by Beck — a song that could easily be adopted of the theme for the Michael Cera/Jesse Eisenberg crowd — Michael Bolton ruining a gangsta party tune through his obsession with “Jack Sparrow” and Justin Timberlake managing to top his previous collaboration with the group on “Motherlover”.
What really sets The Lonely Island apart is how God-damn good the production on these “joke” songs are; honestly, many rappers would kill to have beats this good. But really, wouldn’t you rather have Nicki Minaj and cult film director John Waters instructing you how to be a voyeur than another 50 Cent-wannabe rapping over these cuts?
Some parts fall flat — “Threw It On The Ground“‘s anti-establishment screed isn’t as entertaining sans visuals, “Japan” is better as a concept than a two-minute track — but overall, The Lonely Island remain the one part of SNL that deserves to be shared with the rest of the world.
If you didn’t like “Jizzed In My Pants”, “I’m On A Boat” et al from the group’s first album, there’s nothing new for you here to change your mind. But if you have a sense of humour and an ear for good tunes, enjoy!
8.9/10
Watch the video for “I Just Had Sex”
Notes
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