...America... Great...

David Cross returned to stand-up after a six-year absence with a style of comedy that relies on a specific brand of smug, irritable incredulity. The focus is the absurd political theater of 2016, though this audio release captures a different side of the tour than its Netflix sister special. Recorded at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto rather than Texas, Cross plays to an audience of Canadians who are watching the American political circus from a safe, yet nervous, distance.

His targets are familiar for anyone who followed him during the Bush administration: American swagger, gun culture, and religious hypocrisy. He spends several tracks on the rise of Donald Trump, a subject that some critics and listeners felt leaned too heavily on predictable partisan jokes. Yet Cross is at his most engaging when he moves away from direct political ranting.

He spins a long, absurd bit imagining an artisanal gasoline brand for hipsters, and he constructs a bizarre, elaborate scene of a man named Joseph trying to catch Adolf Hitler’s attention at a rally while getting confused between saying hello and saluting.

The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album, though the reception from long-time fans was mixed. Some appreciated his vintage anger, while others complained that the material traded genuine wit for easy targets.

Following the 2016 election, Cross announced he would donate all proceeds from the album’s sales to the ACLU, calling some of his own pre-election optimism painful to look back on.