+ B O B P A R I N S . C O M

+ WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE KISSING ROCKS

Sun, 18 May 2008 20:33:21 -0400

These are some of my favorite quotes about THE KISSING ROCKS Scroll down for more articles and reviews or click HERE to write your own review on ITUNES.     "THE KISSING ROCKS does indeed rock and still is catchy as hell...it's bright, well crafted, and great sounding... if you are looking for catchy, Beatles inspired rock, then Bob Parins is your man."   - DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY

"Parins sounds like a lost collaboration between the harmonies of Brian Wilson and the melodies of Paul McCartney, circa 1965-1967."  
- NPR.ORG

"At least half of this disc ranks among the best of the year... It's an eclectic blend indeed of songs and sounds... Through it all, Parins consistently brings two things: immaculate craftsmanship and a sense of humor."   - 30MUSIC.COM

"He's no shrinking violet. ...It's an amazing batch of sounds"   - VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE

"The Kissing Rocks sounds like Ted Leo, Of Montreal, and P:ano having one heck of a house party. And seriously, who wouldn't want to be at that party?"
- SOULSHINE.CA

"This album shines in three-dimensions, six ways to Sunday and beyond. I mean it when I say I am thrilled about finding your music. You are a class act!"
ALAN HABER, PURE POP RADIO

"One of the most disparate collections I've ever heard... The Whole album is a must-listen."
DOVER POST

"Refreshing newness with a faint Beatlesque vibe. Something special."
ADD REVIEWS

"This is a record unafraid to pay homage to what it loves most and it does so with such gusto that its almost impossible to ignore."
- FIRSTCOASTNEWS.COM

"Who could deny how witty and catchy this indie-rock group is?"
SMOTHER.NET

"You can dance to it, take a road trip with it, put it on as background music or just hit play. I recommend doing all four."
INDOFUNK.COM

"...The strongest melodies, harmonies and arrangements that you're going to hear in pop music these days."
LUTHER HERMANSON, 30 MUSIC

+ FIRST TRACK OF NEW ALBUM COMPLETED

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Engineer Jason Finkel Took the reins and mixed my recording of a new song called The Real Me. Jason is a great engineer/ producer and a close friend of mine. We Co-Produced my previous Record, THE KISSING ROCKS. Jason also mixed most of the tracks.

I wanted Jason to mix this track and booked a day at PYRAMID RECORDING STUDIO in Manhattan where Jason likes to work. He spent one very very long day on it. I came in to the studio two thirds of the way through the process to provide a fresh ear and, perhaps more importantly, a protein shake, some almonds, a bag of dried bananas, and some yerba maté (which I ended up drinking).

You can hear the mix at his WEBSITE and compare the difference between what I gave him and the finished product. (you’ll find links to both on the the little blog Jason keeps on his home page). I’m not officially giving links to tracks before the record is finished, but I figure if you’ve read all this you deserve a reward.

+ REVIEW FROM DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

"THE KISSING ROCKS does indeed rock and still is catchy as hell...it's bright, well crafted, and great sounding... if you are looking for catchy, Beatles inspired rock, then Bob Parins is your man."   

BOB PARINS AND TRUE LOVE ALWAYS
THE KISSING ROCKS
Self-Released

Normally, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. You know, that sweet super-catchy pop rock. But due to the demise of my marriage my heart is darker and I'm no longer a pushover for someone whose harmonies resemble McCartney's or Wilson's. Bob Parins, along with his backing band True Love Always, have crafted a sort of celebration of sunny hooks throughout their album Kissing the Rocks. But, does his pop mastery, and meaty guitar work, brighten my heart? That is the ultimate question.

A grand piano interlude introduces "Mr. Face" and then the twinkling piano enters like a lullaby. Then it builds up and falls into the sweet little pop ditty that it is. Incredibly catchy, complete with "bah bah bah baaaah" backing vocals, the song is a good thermometer of the rest of the album. A T. Rex groove intros "I'm Dancing", which is a nonsensical song with lyrical content summed up in the title. Still, for being a little ditty, it is filled out well with a spiky guitar and a roaming bassline. "OOOOOOO la la la" greets us in "Polly", which is not the Nirvana tune, but a slow paced, falsetto song about a parakeet. Still tuneful and full of great sounds, but not much else. "This Might Be the Coffee Talking" is an acoustic song and features a mouth harp. Hilarious, yes, but it still is an effective song with cynical lyrical imagery. "This might be the coffee talking/but I'd say everything can be alright" seems a fine sentiment for this dark tale.

"The Kissing Rocks" does indeed rock and still is catchy as hell. Bob fills out his voice with a little grit that hasn't been heard before and the band rocks out. There really isn't anything cute about this track. "Spave Explores the Gian Microchip" is a noisy instrumental and up next we get a whistle - another near instrumental - in "How?". It's followed closely by the third track in this mini opera, "Like This" - another instrumental which stems from the other two, but is slightly more strong. "I'll Be There" picks up the pace again with Bob wailing his head off, a driving piano, and the band packing in a nice little punch with the addition of a gospel choir near the end. Class. "What it is" has a nice little buzzy riff and it meanders on for a while, but then the big chorus comes in and Bob screams like Macca in "Helter Sketler". An epic track that features some jammy guitar work and ends with a near whisper. We finish with "I Know, I Know" which has a jive organ riff and another catchy as hell chorus.

Now, for a self released album, the sound of this one is incredible. It is stuffed to the gills with sonic tweaks and twitches, which in no way detract from the tunes. That's what its ultimately about, ain't it? I mean if you are looking for catchy, Beatles inspired rock, then Bob Parins is your man.

 
- Diggsy
09/27/07

+ SPINNING IN SAO PAOLO

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:06:35 -0400

Music Writer Claudio Szynkier did a feature on THE KISSING ROCKS in his descobrindo bandas web-log and is also spinning the record at his monthly party at MILO GARAGE in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Here’s the feature for any of you who read Portuguese. If anyone can comment a translation of this I would appreciate it!

BOB PARINS

brooklyn tradiÁa

bob parins (clique sempre no amarelo) È um desses caras que ficam meio ‡ margem da jovem cobertura indie impressa americana. hipÛteses? s„o caras, como ele, que parecem mais velhos do que s„o, e para o bem e para o mal, o que os jornalistas desse ramo perseguem, mesmo nos EUA, È uma idÈia soberana de rejuvenescimento.

como o gÍnio dan wallace, ou mesmo como jeff tweedy, que, em seus ˙ltimos discos, no wilco, teve bem menos apoio nativo do que merecia, bob parins n„o tem medo de oferecer roupagem nova para aquilo que È enxergado como cafona ou ultrapassado. e n„o tem medo, inclusive, de envolver essa roupagem em registro e timbres bastante tradicionais, apesar de vigorosos.

o engraÁado È que parins vem do vanguardista brooklyn, NYC, e meio que representa o outro hemisfÈrio do mesmo mundo que tem no mapa, do outro extremo, os n˙cleos vanguardistas e selvagens de flying, dirty projectors, grizzly bear e etc.

o que acontece È que parins n„o deixa de ser uma vanguarda l· tambÈm, redefinindo, com tanta propriedade e fome, os traÁos da psicodelia radiofÙnica (por ter vocaÁ„o, n„o por ter tocado na r·dio) dos zombies e dos beatles; ou dialogando, dotado da mesma propriedade, com a geraÁ„o do powerpop noventista americano classudo, de gladhands (uma das mais perfeitas bandas de rock a j· ter tocado), sloan, oranger, wondermints, turma de talento cujo tamanho, com seus super pa-pa-p·s, n„o foi visto nem na geraÁ„o sessentista, e consagrada, desse mesmo estilo.

o brooklyn encantado e desconectado do mundo, desenhando dentro de seus prÛprios limites um novo nÌvel de realidade musical, uma nova proposta de mundo-arte, È de fato do grizzly bear e do flying. s„o os que sobreviver„o a tudo, e a histÛria vai consagra-los assim. mas o mesmo brooklyn abriga, e È bom sabermos, tambÈm, uma das frentes tradicionalistas-pra-caralho mais interessantes e estimulantes de sua Època.

em 2006, o ano da m˙sica em amplos sentidos, bob lanÁou um disco belo chamado the kissing rocks, cheio de suingues melodiosos, palminhas e tecladıes e guitarronas de FM que vocÍ pode conferir na p·gina do myspace tambÈm, e esperemos pelas prÛximas bordoadas pop cheias de capricho.

e, para os que vÍm acompanhando o blog, a novidade È o podcast tanque (leia mais aqui). inaugurado agora, hoje, daqui a pouco. tem bob parins no primeiro programa, claro, que tentar· lanÁar sonda sobre o brooklyn, centro nervoso do que melhor a m˙sica jovem pensa e produz nesta dÈcada. entrevistei chris taylor, arranjador e baixista do grizzly bear, e essa È apenas uma das atraÁıes. ham.

+ POLITIS NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, CYPRUS

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:30:03 -0400

This article ran in NICOSIA’S POLITIS NEWSPAPER ON 8-22-2007. I believe the top article is about the DOGSTOCK MUSIC FESTIVAL and the bottom is about The Kissing Rocks.

+ PARINS MUSIC ON THE BIG SCREEN

Tue, 1 May 2007 15:41:50 -0400

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED------------------------>

A VERY SUNNY MORNING has done very well at festivals picking up the award for best Experimental film at the WILDWOOD FILM FESTIVAL and ranking as an OFFICIAL SELECTION of the WISCONSIN FILM FESTIVAL, PORTLAND UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL, ICFLM FILM FESTIVAL, and the TORONTO AFTER DARK FILM FESTIVAL.

A few reviews: for more information click here

"...literally laugh-out-loud funny...it’s very fun, and extremely nice to look at – director Eric Carter has a good eye and a remarkable ability to squeeze colorful and memorably absurd images out of what I imagine must have been a fairly tiny budget."

Timothy Brayton
FilmThreat.com

"Eric Carter looks to be yet another surrealist mad man operating the film camera and storming film festivals, and I’m anxious to see what he can do next with a longer format. A Very Sunny Morning is an odd, weird, and entertaining head scratcher, and one worth the watch."

Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema-Crazed.com 
<----------------------------------------------------------------

A new short film features music from THE KISSING ROCKS. Look for "A VERY SUNNY MORNING" at festivals and also at IFC in NY the following days:  Sat 05/05/07 05:25PM 05/07 12:40AM 05/11 02:50AM 05/12 07:45AM 05/20 11:20PM  05/22 06:55PM 05/30 12:50AM  05/29 01:15PM

+ WNYC SOUNDCHECK PROGRAM WITH JOHN SHAFFER

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Bob Parins performs live on WNYC'S Soundcheck program with John Shaffer. Click HERE to download the episode.