Review: Stuart Jones, By The Slice

On his debut album, Vancouver stand-up Stuart Jones offers a clever, self-deprecating wit — “My name is Stuart, and no one has ever been caught off-guard by that,” he says near the top of By The Slice — that’s best when it zeroes in on the absurdity of human behaviour.

Recorded at Vancouver’s Yuk Yuk’s in November 2019, his set ranges from a misunderstanding about Salsa classes to knowing someone’s nerdy tattoo much better than they do. “Animal Shit”, an album highlight, finds Jones working through the various, specific contexts in which we reference types of excrement, and the ”totally different meanings based on what animal shit it out.”

He loses some steam when his material punches down. “Homelessness” riffs on the subject, but gets stuck in a run of cheap punchlines. That it ends with a quick indictment of how we treat the homeless helps reset the energy, but his path to get there dims its impact.

Thankfully, Jones has his sights mostly set on better targets: when he’s examining his love of Pokemon Go!, trying to care about Canadian politics, or sharing an epic ironing story on the Black & Decker forums, Jones’ comic perspective feels sharply attuned and hilarious to boot.

By The Slice was released August 24, 2020 on 604 Records/Comedy Here Often?
Listen to it here.

Stuart Jones By The Slice ℗ 2020 Comedy Here Often?