Description

Rob Paravonian’s album A/B, released in Nov., 2016, is a showcase of Rob’s songwriting gifts, lyrical dexterity, and studio musicianship. The 14-track collection spans genres from pop, rock, piano ballads, and even bossa nova (on the surprising instrumental closing track “Pesticida”).

Opening with the upbeat pop-rock “$9 Cupcake,” a high-octane grouse on gentrification, the album weaves hilarious insights with intricate wordplay throughout. Letting the piano carry the instrumentation in tracks like “Flashback Wife” and “Who Died” reveals Rob’s talent as a songwriter/composer, while the sharp hooks on the tracks “Stoop Sale” and “One Plus One” showcase Rob’s knack for writing catchy pop hooks.

The album was recorded in secret and released with a surprise announcement in November of 2016. Released on CD in a cardboard jacket, only 100 were pressed on the initial run, the fewest of any of Rob’s studio albums, due to the transitioning of the music business to streaming and digital services. Three of the songs—Baby in a Bar, Vocal Fry Girl, and Secret Family—are in Rob’s live set on the concert album Rob P. Rocks a Jazz Club. Guest artists are Ben Pernick, playing tenor sax on “Pesticida,” and Joshua Phan-Gruber, guest rapper on “For The Best.”