Paul F. Tompkins: Impersonal

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins—best known for Best Week Ever and Mr. Show—titled his debut stand-up CD Impersonal because it collects his older, mostly conceptual material. The title also applies to the album's relentlessly efficient, no-frills, no-filler approach: Without introduction, Tompkins immediately launches into a bit on track one, and none of the album's 15 tracks segues into the others. They're self-contained bits that could go in any order. That's no problem: Impersonal starts strong (with a funny story about seeing a goth girl running) and doesn't let up until the ending bit about the pointlessness of writing letters to magazines. The disc offers more proof that Tompkins is a talented comedian who deserves the success enjoyed by some of his better-known peers.