Lost in Alphaville

Lost in Alphaville is the third full-length studio album by The Rentals, released on August 25, 2014, through Polyvinyl Records. The album is available on CD, vinyl, cassette and as a digital download.[3] It marks the band's first full-length album since their 1999 release Seven More Minutes and their first-ever release through Polyvinyl, with whom they signed in December 2013.[1]

Lost in Alphaville
Studio album by
The Rentals
ReleasedAugust 22, 2014
Recorded2013
StudioLos Angeles, Nashville and New Orleans[1]
GenreAlternative rock
Length40:19
LabelPolyvinyl Records
ProducerMatt Sharp, The Rentals[2]
The Rentals chronology
Songs About Time
(2009)		 Lost in Alphaville
(2014)		 Q36
(2020)
Singles from Lost in Alphaville
  1. "Thought of Sound"
    Released: June 4, 2014
  2. "1000 Seasons"
    Released: July 23, 2014

Background and recording

After The Rentals disbanded following the tour for 1999's Seven More Minutes, the band reunited in 2005 and released The Last Little Life EP as well as four mini-albums as part of their multimedia project Songs About Time throughout 2009.[1]

On December 5, 2013, Matt Sharp announced that The Rentals had signed with Polyvinyl Records for the release of their forthcoming studio album, which would be their first full-length in 15 years.[1][2] The album, recorded in Los Angeles, Nashville and New Orleans, is mostly made up of newly rerecorded songs from Songs About Time and features The Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney, Lucius' Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig on vocals, Ozma's guitarist Ryen Slegr and Lauren Chipman of The Section Quartet on viola and piano.[1] Sharp and the band are credited with producing the album and it was mixed by Grammy-winning producer Dave Sardy.[2]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubC+[6]
Consequence of SoundC[7]
DIY[8]
NME7/10[9]
Paste8/10[10]
Pitchfork6.9/10[11]
PopMatters[12]
Sputnikmusic[13]
Under the Radar[14]

Lost in Alphaville received mostly positive feedback from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 69 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 13 reviews.[4]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic called the album "a huge-sounding modern indie rock album with a glossy sheen on the surface, but all kinds of heart beating just below."[5] Giving the album an eight out of ten rating, Jeff Milo of Paste wrote, "It’s far from the slapped-together shambolic style of '90s power-pop; no, this sounds much more arranged, almost like tightened chamber pop if it were clouded by the murk of shoegaze."[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matt Sharp

No.TitleLength
1."It's Time to Come Home"4:00
2."Traces of Our Tears"3:25
3."Stardust"2:48
4."1000 Seasons"3:15
5."Damaris"4:54
6."Irrational Things"4:14
7."Thought of Sound"3:44
8."Song of Remembering"3:37
9."Seven Years"4:34
10."The Future"5:48
Total length:40:19
Japanese edition with bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Thought of Sound" (outtake)3:22
Total length:43:41

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic:[15]

Charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[16] 200
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[17] 7

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label
United States August 25, 2014
Polyvinyl

References
  1. "The Rentals Sign to Polyvinyl for First Album in 15 Years". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. December 5, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  2. "The Rentals Set First Album in 15 Years, With Black Keys' Patrick Carney on Drums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 5, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  3. "Lost in Alphaville: The Rentals: Music". Amazon.com. ASIN B00LPQXXQ6. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  4. Metacritic. "Reviews for Lost in Alphaville by The Rentals". CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  5. Sendra, Tim. "Lost in Alphaville - The Rentals - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  6. Mincher, Chris (August 26, 2014). "The Rentals' latest is a mismatched patchwork of their past". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. Gerber, Justin (August 14, 2014). "The Rentals - Lost In Alphaville". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  8. Walters, Tom (August 29, 2014). "The Rentals – Lost in Alphaville". DIY. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  9. Beaumont, Mark (September 7, 2014). "The Rentals – 'Lost In Alphaville'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  10. Milo, Jeff (August 26, 2014). "The Rentals: Lost In Alphaville Review". Paste. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  11. Berman, Stuart (August 13, 2014). "Album Review: The Rentals: Lost in Alphaville". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  12. Korber, Kevin (August 27, 2014). "The Rentals: Lost In Alphaville". PopMatters. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  13. "Review: The Rentals - Lost In Alphaville". Sputnikmusic. August 26, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  14. Passman, Aaron (August 29, 2014). "The Rentals: Lost in Alphaville (Polyviny) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  15. "Lost in Alphaville – The Rentals – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  16. "The Rentals Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  17. "The Rentals Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
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