With the exception of their self-titled debut, aka, The Blue Album, I’ll gladly exchange all of Weezer’s discography for this debut album from Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. With The Rentals, Sharp tapped into the same hooky, ultra-melodic pop as Weezer, but with the added benefit of old school Moogs, female vocals and string arrangements (courtesy of That Dog’s Petra Haden), and some inventive drumming from Sharp’s Weezer bandmate Patrick Wilson. As such, there’s a distinctly retro vibe to the whole thing that’s particularly fetching, and quite apropos for Sharp’s sweet ballads about unrequited love and whatnot.

The album’s best known for “Friends of P.,” a driving single replete with vintage Moog sounds, self-deprecating lyrics (“I’m gonna break down at 50/And I’m not quite a stallion”), and a music video that features Sharp and Co. dressed like employees of a 1960s-era accounting firm. Other highlights include “Please Let That Be You,” a spiritual counterpart to “Friends of P.,” and “My Summer Girl,” which finds Sharp bemoaning the girl who left him and really benefits from Wilson’s drumming and Haden’s vocals and violin. (I have very fond memories of listening to these songs while playing Doom and Ridge Racer on my brother’s PlayStation when I was back home for college break.)

Sadly, we’ll probably never see a Return of the Rentals reissue. One was planned, but while he was working on a deluxe vinyl edition, Sharp discovered that all of the album’s master recordings — with the exception of one single tape of Haden’s violin — had either been lost or destroyed by the record label.