Matt Sharp, once the bassist in power pop favorites Weezer, formed the new wave-influenced project known as the Rentals. Born September 22, 1969, in Arlington, Virginia, Sharp helped establish Weezer in 1992. In the ensuing months the group became one of the most popular up-and-coming acts on the Los Angeles club circuit, and Geffen released their self-titled debut LP two years later, which scored a major hit through the smash single and video “Buddy Holly.”
In spring 1994 Sharp organized the initial Rentals recording session. Recruiting Weezer drummer Pat Wilson, that dog. violinist Petra Haden, vocalist/keyboardist Cherielynn Westrich, and guitarist Rod Cervera, the subsequent sessions produced the band’s 1995 debut Return of the Rentals, which scored a hit with the infectious “Friends of P.” Sharp rejoined Weezer to cut the band’s acclaimed 1996 follow-up Pinkerton, yet he declared his departure from the lineup in February 1998; the second Rentals album, Seven More Minutes, appeared a year later.
Following a six-year break, Sharp revived the Rentals in 2005. After touring with Ozma during summer 2006, the group issued the EP The Last Little Life in 2007. That December the Rentals confirmed plans to begin work on a new album in 2008. The outcome was Songs About Time, a 2009 multimedia project of photographs, short films, and three mini-albums that appeared in a limited-edition deluxe box set in 2010. In April 2011 the band put out Present Resilience: A Benefit Album for the Japanese Relief.
For the next Rentals album Sharp selected ten tracks from Songs About Time and re-recorded them with violinist Lauren Chipman, Ozma guitarist Ryen Slegr, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, and Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of the group Lucius. He laid down basic tracks in L.A., then collaborated with Carney in Nashville and the Lucius vocalists in N.Y.C. Once Sharp had arranged the material, incorporating selected portions of the Songs About Time sessions, he handed the songs to D. Sardy for mixing. Polyvinyl released the finished album, Lost in Alphaville, in late summer 2014.
