Album Review: Harpreet Sehmbi, Irregular Harpbeat

Toronto based comedian Harpreet Sehmbi is a Second City alumna and has headlined numerous comedy festivals throughout North America. Acting as host and co-producer for The Darjeelings of Comedy, featuring Southeast Asian female comedians, and the Anti-Token Comedy Show, showcasing POC comedians, she released her first comedy album Irregular Harpbeat this summer.

In Irregular Harpbeat, Sehmbi dives into the heart of being Indian and speaking Punjabi while living and performing comedy in Toronto. She discusses the initial shock people have when they first meet her and learn she speaks Punjabi or are confused when she tells them she isn’t Black. As a person of colour, I’m able to relate to similar experiences but I guess it comes down to not having that particular Southeast Asian experience that though I’m able to relate, I didn’t find the material as humorous as the recorded audience.

On the other hand, when Sehmbi speaks of her experience being lifelong single and sought the advice of a psychic, she was told “the reason that I’ve been single my entire life is because I have a jealous ghost following me”. This is hilarious and beyond the simple absurdity of the situation, it’s actually quite relatable as someone who’s parent has also sought similar advice from a psychic.

The content in Irregular Harpbeat ranges from being the single friend among married parent friends, the awkward moment when a girlfriend accidentally sends a nether region pic to you that was meant for the guy she’s planning on hooking up with, being a horribly unqualified teacher, and appropriative cultural tattoos. 

Here’s the thing, this comedy set targets a very specific audience and unless you are in the sweet spot within that audience, your mileage will definitely vary when it comes to whether or not you find this album laugh out loud funny. Sehmbi is warm, personable, and engaging with her audience which makes her album comfortable to listen to - even if I’m not laughing out loud throughout her set. For me, there were certainly moments where I did give a few laughs but more often than not, I found the content relatable to different degrees but not exactly funny. 

Irregular Harpbeat was released August 5, 2022 on Howl & Roar Records.
Listen to it here.