Eugene Mirman - Absurd Nightclub Comedy Of Eugene Mirman (CD)

All Music Guide

With its knowing Mort Sahlera album title and cover photo, The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman is a deliberate return to the glory days of the standup comedy LP, those records that were hipster totems in the hifi days and a constant presence in Goodwill bins since. Mirman, a Russianborn, Bostonbased comedian, isn't a throwback to the comedians of that era, but nor does he really fit in with the politicallycharged likes of contemporaries such as David Cross or Janeane Garofalo; instead, he's sort of the indie rock equivalent of prestardom Jerry Seinfeld or stonerera George Carlin: his observational humor is mostly born out of his everyday life (one of the funniest routines on the album is "Fleet," detailing his increasing frustrations with a screwedup credit card account, and his early days as a RussianJewish immigrant in Ronald Reagan's America informs much of the material), but he's also a gifted verbal satirist in the Carlin tradition, best shown in the sidesplitting "Shapes... for Sale" (slogans for geometric figures in the manner of those odd ad campaigns for beef or dairy foods, such as "Square: The Other Rectangle" or "Triangle: Hot ThreeWay Action") or a brief bit on challenging people who parrot madeup statistics. Mirman's a verbal comedian whose material doesn't lose much when you can't see him, making him a natural for the unfortunately largely moribund comedy album genre. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less