The Rentals – Return Of The Rentals

I met Matt Sharp years ago. He played a solo show in my town. And i was just so taken aback to meet him. Matt Sharp was the original bass player of Weezer. And though I have ZERO interest in that band now, their first two albums are unstoppable. I have always given a lot of that to Matt Sharp. Seeing as after his exit from the band they put out nothing that came close to those two albums. Those two albums were so important to me as a youth. And I think when i met him I freaked him about a bit. haha. Besides being one of the minds behind two of the most important albums of my youth, Matt Sharp started a side project while in Weezer that while always awesome, has become personally important to me in the last month. The Rentals existed for years in some form or another before the release of this, their first album. And when this album hit, i remember it’s single “Friends of P” being very popular on the MTV. The band had a NEW new wave sound going for themselves. Alternative wave? And where Matt had often taken a higher, falsetto singing style in Weezer, the higher registers are taken over by dual female vocals. The songs on this album are often times really heavy. Not just from a musical standpoint, but from a lyrical standpoint. I never really noticed it before recently. I’d listened to this album god knows how many times, always loved it. But now there is this whole new layer. A lot of the songs deal with lost love, the idea of not being happy, not finding what you are looking for in life. I mean, this shit hits home for me right now. haha. But i like that the band is musically upbeat to the point that for years, i didn't see the deeper, maybe sadder, side to a lot of the songs. How can you be depressed when there are moogs about? haha. My favorite song off this album has always been “My Summer Girl.” Recently, the song has taken a sad personal turn for me. But I’m just glad to hear such awesome songs about things that I am experiencing now. And they are written in a way, that makes me sad but makes me realize, you can take something life changing and make something really great out of it. Its going to take me awhile to be able to do that. But I have albums like this one help me through that time. And to also help me realize, LOTS of people have gone and are going through the same thing I am right now. Thank you Matt Sharp. I love you.
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