Amber Preston
Sparkly Parts
Stand Up! Records
Amber Preston has been mentioned as one of the best up and comers by a few comics of note – and she sure proves herself as a consummate comedian with this full-set comedy record.
I still love a comedy record – CD, download, stream…whatever it is and however it arrives I like the format; the idea that you’re going to sit down with something (or take it for a stroll now, thanks Spotify!) and essentially you’re going to give it your time. You don’t sit down with a comedy record the way you do with some light jazz or classical; the way you might put music on while cooking or entertaining…a comedy record is not something you put on and then flip through a magazine – or even browse your computer screen while listening. You are going to miss the jokes if you don’t buckle in – and you need to be buckled up in a way that is different even from watching a comedy special on the Netflix or ye olde DVD player.
You can watch and browse elsewhere – but with a comedy album you are tuned in to get the jokes and to use your ears to try to pick up on the vibe, the scene, the venue, its audience – you have no visual cues so your mind takes you there and starts doing some extra work. It’s great.
And with a great comedy record you can tell almost straight away if the laughs are real – authentic; not just phoned in or delivered in that two-drink minimum way where the crowd has basically paid to have a good time and will start having it before it’s even genuinely happened. A good comedy record tells the truth in the same way a good comic tells the truth.
Preston isn’t really going to new topics here – nutty parents, small-town accents and quirks, religion, gay marriage – but it’s how she gets there and what she does when shaping and showing the material. These are great jokes. Chock full of strong content. No misses. Just solid from start to finish and then with some huge highlights when needed. Great crowd work, nothing ‘blue’ too, all great observational, anecdotal material.
She’s subtly knocked it out of the park with this one. Well worth adding to your collection if you’re a comedy-record person. Well worth checking out if you want a new name to add to your comedy interests.
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