Comedian Ian Edwards‘ first stand-up album, “100% Half-Assed,” dropped Tuesday. After giving it a listen, we found the release to be a strong debut for Conan O’Brien’s new record label.
As far as debut albums go, Edwards’ is a little more polished than most, likely a result of his having done stand-up since he was in his early 20s. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly he confessed to naming the album “100% Half-Assed” because he feels there’s no excuse for not having an album out by now.
“100% Half-Assed” brings his unique and unwavering perspective to a variety of topics such as the elderly, accidental pregnancies, shark attacks and Bruce Lee movies. His persona is unoffensive and portrays man just trying to wade through the insanity of every day; but he doesn’t shy away from tackling more uncomfortable topics like abortion, domestic abuse and race. His audience follows him down these slightly murky paths because he’s never making jokes at anyone’s expense but his own.
It was announced in May that O’Brien would launch Team Coco Records, a label devoted to shining a spotlight on up-and-coming stand-up comedians and giving performers more creative control. O’Brien, who hosts the TBS show “Conan,” tends to have more stand-up comics on his show than anyone else in late-night. Entertainment Weekly notes that Edwards has appeared on all three of O’Brien’s late-night shows (“Late Night,” “The Tonight Show” and “Conan”).
In addition to his stand-up work, Edwards has written for “Two Broke Girls,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Boondocks,” among others shows.
“100% Half-Assed” is available now via Team Coco Records for $5. It was recorded at the La Jolla Comedy Store in March of 2014.
Check out Edwards performing on “Conan” in 2013:
