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Sep 09, 2020 Web Exclusive By Paul Bullock

Over the past quarter century Matt Sharp and an ever-expanding list of collaborators have transformed The Rentals into the rare kind of pop music project that is miraculously more relevant now than it was when it started in 1994. As each new incarnation of the band comes together, Sharp and his comrades manage to push boundaries, challenge themselves, and truly evolve.

Q36, the fourth full-length under the moniker, is a hefty ’70s-style concept album about space. It refines and advances many of the ideas from 2014’s excellent Lost in Alphaville, this time with the help of guitarist Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and drummer Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers). It was mixed by longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann, who’s been working with Sharp on and off since Weezer’s Pinkerton. It has a thick, loud sound that perfectly matches its subject matter, exploring the beauty and horror at the intersection of technology and celebrity.

Check out the lead single “Spaceships,” the retro-futuristic “Forgotten Astronaut,” and the very real “Conspiracy.” The sweeping seven-minute closer, “Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad,” is a “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” for the social media era. Hopefully, Sharp and his friends will keep more of this stuff coming for the next 25 years. (www.therentals.com)

Author rating: 8/10