The Rentals preview

The Rentals
Metro, Chicago
Tuesday, August 14, 2007

There’s The Return Of The Rentals and then there’s the return of The Rentals.

Few band names or CD titles predict things as well as The Dismemberment Plan’s moniker foresaw the band’s breakup, though The Return Of The Rentals (the title of their debut album) comes close. The Rentals are back, ladies and germs, after a six-year layoff.

The band formed after frontman Matt Sharp left Weezer, funneling the geek rock sound into something a little more dawn-of-MTV and featuring a Moog. The Return Of The Rentals produced a sly radio hit, “Friends Of P,” and the band went on to tour with mid-’90s alterna-rock biggies like Garbage, Blur, and the Chili Peppers. A dispute with Maverick Records over the mixing of the second album, Seven More Minutes, allegedly led to its lack of promotion, and shortly after releasing the Internet-only/acoustic Live In Japan, Sharp retreated into the forest.

Back with honey-voiced compatriot Sara Radle and bassist Rachel Haden, The Rentals’ comeback EP, The Last Little Life (Boompa), returns to the girl-boy scenario but mostly dashes the band’s overt retro tendencies. While winking synths underscore bits of “Last Romantic Day” and “Little Bit Of Everything,” Sharp’s songwriting leans more to newer Belle & Sebastian, Stars, and the Prozac side of Eels. Perhaps as a signal of intent, The Return Of The Rentals‘ “Sweetness And Tenderness” has been re-recorded as a lite rock anthem, a curious step to take as the band prepare a full-length for 2008.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly