Demetri Martin - Standup Comedian [192] (2012 comedy)

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Tracklisting
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1. Demetri Martin - Introduction [04:51]
2. Demetri Martin - People Watching [05:06]
3. Demetri Martin - Names [04:22]
4. Demetri Martin - Yep [03:27]
5. Demetri Martin - Dalmatians, Guts [03:25]
6. Demetri Martin - OK [03:57]
7. Demetri Martin - Silent Letters [04:21]
8. Demetri Martin - Death [05:03]
9. Demetri Martin - Senses, Halloween [03:37]
10. Demetri Martin - Concerts [04:57]
11. Demetri Martin - Flavors [02:42]
12. Demetri Martin - Guitar, Jokes [07:32]

In a sporadic, decade-plus career, Demetri Martin has defined himself as a man of many talents. The best and most obvious example of his abilities is Comedy CentralΓÇÖs short-lived Important Things With Demetri Martin, a multi-faceted showcase for the comedianΓÇÖs minimalistic yet cerebral comedy. MartinΓÇÖs debut album, 2006ΓÇÖs These Are Jokes, plays no less like a variety show, featuring guest spots (including MartinΓÇÖs grandmother), Easter eggs, and songs. His book, This Is A Book, shows his skill with palindromes. But as evidenced on Standup ComedianΓÇöhis first stand-up album since 2007ΓÇÖs Demetri Martin. Person. and first recorded work since Important Things left the air in 2010ΓÇöthe more Martin amuses himself with gimmickry, and the farther he moves from his roots as a one-liner savant, the harder it can be to come back.

On Comedian, Martin abstains from many of his stylistic props: no whiteboard, no guests, few frills. (It could be argued this is a necessity for the CD version, but past albums are hardly this bare-bones.) Other than the self-introduction and closing track ΓÇ£Guitar, Jokes,ΓÇ¥ Comedian is largely a traditional stand-up set. The album is split into distinct halves, with the first part containing longer, elaborate bits that blend MartinΓÇÖs playful prankster streak with his eye for linguistic and cultural ironies, and follow his non sequiturs to their unlikely conclusions. One punchline shifts a jokeΓÇÖs premise from clumsiness to fatalism; a complaint about ΓÇ£looking like a shitty magicianΓÇ¥ when using automatic towel dispensers reveals an entire sketch on unnecessary conveniencesΓÇöa biting appraisal and the first halfΓÇÖs best-written material. In place of visual support, Martin creates imaginative scenarios for his dry wit to run rampant, which carries the albumΓÇÖs nearly flawless first half. The cracks emerge when the album transitions into its second half, a series of one-liners and short quips.

In spite of his renown as a polymath, Martin is perhaps most celebrated for his way with a memorable one-liner, which has garnered comparisons to Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg. The material on Comedian occasionally reaches those heightsΓÇöparticularly on consistent tracks like ΓÇ£Concerts,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Yep,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Flavors,ΓÇ¥ or whenever heΓÇÖs working blueΓÇöbut the albumΓÇÖs low points stand in stark contrast. Four tracks in particularΓÇöΓÇ¥OK,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Silent Letters,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Death,ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Senses, HalloweenΓÇ¥ΓÇövary from mildly unfunny to glaringly hacky. Lazy setups like, ΓÇ£You can tell youΓÇÖre not doing well in life whenΓÇ¥ are a dime a dozen, and a joke at the expense of the WNBA is just too easy. ItΓÇÖs simple enough to ignore underwritten or unoriginal jokes if theyΓÇÖre isolated; unfortunately, the album is hit-or-miss by track, with the better material bookending the sagging middle.

Standup Comedian is curiously contradictory. ItΓÇÖs at its strongest during the first halfΓÇÖs narratives and the last trackΓÇÖs deluge of one-liners, but a weak hybrid of the two occupies most of the albumΓÇÖs running time. Additionally, the impersonal material and MartinΓÇÖs unwaveringly dry delivery make it feel anonymous, as though a friend at a party is reading from a joke book. Martin is clearly operating outside most of the comedy world, and as frustrating as it can be to experience his missteps, a flawed album thatΓÇÖs brilliant and lazy in equal parts is always preferable to one thatΓÇÖs generic and unmemorable.