Review: Patrick Haye, It's About the Principle

There’s a consumer brand of humour that comes to those willing to shell out for a two-drink minimum. An observational style that doesn’t dare analyze why the laugh is happening, only that it’s there. It comes from open mic comics spewing their Reddit/Showthoughts posts through the crackly amps of a dive bar. It’s a pro comic enduring their tired bits as they reverberate off the brick wall behind them at a comedy club. This is the stand up of the past, and it’s invoked in Patrick Haye’s It’s About the Principle.

The subjects Haye tackles in this album are old hat and uninventive. From dating women to generic slice-of-life scenarios, the joke writing throughout leans into shock over substance. Every interesting premise Hayes crafts sells out into a hollow observation. He skews often into grotesque imagery or “edgy” turns to elicit responses. He caricatures the woman he dates in the same squeaky voice, creating a stereotypical vapid bimbo that men like him take delight in never trying to understand.

Patrick Haye’s It’s About the Principle is inoffensive offensive comedy stuck in the mid 00’s. The album never challenges its audience, and that’s what the audience is there for.

It’s About the Principle was released October 13, 2020.
Listen to it here.

It's About the Principle · Patrick Haye ℗ 2020