Blog: Radio Free Chicago

I want to make this perfectly clear, right from the get-go: The Rentals’s 1995 debut, Return of the Rentals , is a small masterpiece of power pop. It’s a record that easily stands on its own, to the point that its utterly unavoidable association with the early releases of bandleader Matt Sharp’s other band--you know, the one with the songs about Buddy Holly and sweaters and butterflies--is very much a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s really too bad that Return of the Rentals has never been allowed to exist by itself--you really can’t even talk [...]

• The Rentals - My Summer Girl