Hear Black Keys’ Patrick Carney Guest on New Rentals Song

The recently reunited Rentals — the Nineties alt rock outfit formed by ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp — will release their first album in 15 years, Lost in Alphaville, on August 26th via Polyvinyl. You can pre-order the LP now (including a version on limited edition coke bottle clear vinyl) and take a listen to the first single “Thought of Sound” below.

“Thought of Sound” finds the Rentals working with the various styles that comprised Nineties alternative nation, toying with blissed-out harmonies, guitars that chug forward while drenched in a fuzzy haze and even a whinnying synth line reminiscent of certain high-pitched Weezer riffs.

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Produced by D. Sardy (Jay Z, LCD Soundsystem), Lost in Alphaville was recorded in Los Angeles, Nashville and New Orleans, and marks the Rentals’ first full-length since 1999’s Seven More Minutes. Sharp made the album with a new backing band comprised of the Black Keys‘ Patrick Carney on drums, Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig on vocals, Ryen Slegr of Ozma on guitar and Lauren Chipman of the Section Quartet playing viola and piano.

Sharp formed the Rentals and released their debut album, Return of the Rentals in 1995, achieving moderate success on the strength of first single, “Friends of P.” Seven More Minutes came after Sharp’s departure from Weezer in 1998, and featured contributions from Blur‘s Damon Albarn and even backing vocals from former Saturday Night Live cast member Maya Rudolph. Sharp technically reformed the Rentals in 2005 and over the next few years, the group released four mini-albums as part of a multimedia project called Songs About Time.