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Firmly tongue in cheek. That's how I would encapsulate Kindler's debut album (recorded 28 years into his career in 2019). The first track is a rant about the cable connecting to his microphone and chiding A Special Thing Records ("AST" in his bit) for some mishap that must have happened before the record button was hit on the final recording. There's a later rant about popping Ps, smoothing the transitions between jokes, and empty seats in the audience. No one should be able to pull this off, but Kindler certainly can.
Hence the Humor was recorded prior to the COVID pandemic, but Kindler decided to release it a few months into the pandemic just to get it out there. I'm happy to report that this album is timeless. Listening to it today it has the same impact as it would have had if it had been released when it was recorded in 2019 before the world as we know it turned on its head. I can't spoil too much about this album because it must be heard with a fresh perspective.
For this album review, I listened at least half-a-dozen times, but this one is going into the "favorites" rotation. If you've seen Kindler perform, you know that he's not a story teller, he's going from one topic to another in rapid fire succession. The track lists are meaningless. There is no natural break between the tracks. I had to look down repeatedly to see where I was in the track list just to see if there was a connection between what he was talking about and the track title.
He's in on that joke by the way. Several track titles toy with this idea. From "Gesturing Wildly", "A Lull", "And Then the Other Thing", and "Bring it Way Down Now", the titles all convey the idea that there is some natural flow of a standard comedy album. For Kindler, however, there simply isn't. "Anybody can do jokes", Kindler says about 10 minutes into the album when he "realizes" that the rant leading up to that moment hasn't formed a conventional comedy album.
One of my favorite lines in the album is "I have trouble unitasking". It's so simple and it captures who he is as a performer and a person apparently. But it helped me discover that Kindler is a wordplay comic. There are a few little gems like this sprinkled throughout this album. Because of Kindler's fast-paced presentation style, it's hard to miss these wordplay jokes with just a single listen, which is why you really have to listen to this album multiple times. Don't think of it as a chore (though chances are, Kindler would say it is and suggest you listen to someone else's album), think of it as a mining expedition.
"They call me fizzles" he claims early on in the album. No, Andy, I think they call you fantastic.
Hence the Humor was released on May 8, 2020. This album is available on streaming platforms and can be purchases at astrecords.com
Hence the Humor was recorded prior to the COVID pandemic, but Kindler decided to release it a few months into the pandemic just to get it out there. I'm happy to report that this album is timeless. Listening to it today it has the same impact as it would have had if it had been released when it was recorded in 2019 before the world as we know it turned on its head. I can't spoil too much about this album because it must be heard with a fresh perspective.
For this album review, I listened at least half-a-dozen times, but this one is going into the "favorites" rotation. If you've seen Kindler perform, you know that he's not a story teller, he's going from one topic to another in rapid fire succession. The track lists are meaningless. There is no natural break between the tracks. I had to look down repeatedly to see where I was in the track list just to see if there was a connection between what he was talking about and the track title.
He's in on that joke by the way. Several track titles toy with this idea. From "Gesturing Wildly", "A Lull", "And Then the Other Thing", and "Bring it Way Down Now", the titles all convey the idea that there is some natural flow of a standard comedy album. For Kindler, however, there simply isn't. "Anybody can do jokes", Kindler says about 10 minutes into the album when he "realizes" that the rant leading up to that moment hasn't formed a conventional comedy album.
One of my favorite lines in the album is "I have trouble unitasking". It's so simple and it captures who he is as a performer and a person apparently. But it helped me discover that Kindler is a wordplay comic. There are a few little gems like this sprinkled throughout this album. Because of Kindler's fast-paced presentation style, it's hard to miss these wordplay jokes with just a single listen, which is why you really have to listen to this album multiple times. Don't think of it as a chore (though chances are, Kindler would say it is and suggest you listen to someone else's album), think of it as a mining expedition.
"They call me fizzles" he claims early on in the album. No, Andy, I think they call you fantastic.
Hence the Humor was released on May 8, 2020. This album is available on streaming platforms and can be purchases at astrecords.com
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