Matt Sharp launched The Rentals in 1995 with The Return of The Rentals while Weezer was on hiatus between the Blue Album and Pinkerton. The album spawned the hit “Friends of P” and the project became Sharp’s full-time gig departing Weezer after Pinkerton’s release in 1996. The Rentals’ official fourth LP, a sci-fi themed, 16-track double-album opus Q36 is out now, featuring contributions from Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (The KIllers) and Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, Mercury Rev, etc.). Over the past quarter century the amorphous group has featured contributions from Petra Haden (That Dog), Maya Rudolph, Damon Albarn (Gorillaz/Blur), Tim Wheeler (Ash), Donna Matthews (Elastica), Miki Berenyi (Lush), Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig (Lucius), Patrick Carney (The Black Keys), amongst many others. With Q36 Sharp takes the collaborative nature even further, creating new merchandise items for every single with visual artist Ivan Minsloff and connecting with the community at HITRECORD.org.
