The Lonely Island

After giving us "Lazy Sunday," "Natalie's Rap," "Dick in a Box" and latest smash "Jizz in My Pants," the jokers in the Lonely Island (SNL's Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) give up pitching their failed TV pilot and drop their debut LP instead. If you thought their SNL digital shorts showed promise, well, they did ("Ras Trent" and "I'm On A Boat" are also on here), because as recording artists, the Lonely Island are fixated on bringing the party with expletive-heavy punch lines that are, get this, actually hilarious. The singles all retain their lustre, even minus the videos (eight of which are included on a joint DVD), and while they steal the show, there's plenty more. "Punch You in the Jeans" is both funny and full of that "golden age" goodness, thanks to some production by Jurassic 5's Nu-Mark, and thanks to it being only 34 seconds, the childishness of "Shrooms" works. And while there are the exemplary aggro dick jokes and rowdy hip-hop anthems catering to frat houses and seventh grade sausage parties ("We Like Sportz," "Who Said We're Wack") and a cameo by the Strokes' Julian Casablancas on an electro pop tune that just tanks, so what? Having been at this for eight years, the Lonely Island are experienced and capable of mastering the art of side-splitting tuneage. The proof is in Incredibad, which is incredibly good, and a benchmark of sorts when it comes to the tricky art of mixing music with comedy.