Seven MoreMinutes

The Rentals are fronted by former Weezer member Matt Sharp and buddies, and the sound is not a million miles away from the geeky American college kids style of Matt's previous band. But Seven More Minutes, their second album, sees them joined by a host of musicians from this side of the Atlantic, including Ash's Tim Wheeler, Blur's Damon Albarn, Donna Matthews from Elastica and former Lush vocalist Miki Berenyi, who all add backing vocals and, in the case of Wheeler, some searing guitar.

Songs like 'Getting By', 'Hello Hello' and 'The Cruise' are infectious, if somewhat familiar, takes on the power pop genre beloved by acts like Fountains of Wayne and El Nino, complete for the most part with wacky lyrics, 60s-ish backing vocals and almost cheesy melodies.

'She Says It's Alright' has more of a country ballad feel to it, while 'Say Goodbye Forever' is more moody and less immediate but works just as well, Donna Matthews providing a worthy foil to Sharp's twang. 'Barcelona' mixes buzzsaw guitars with a few synth effects before the trademark singalong chorus enters the fray. It's when they play around with the blueprint, however, on 'The Man With Two Brains' or the Deep Purplish psychedelia of 'Must Be Wrong', that The Rentals lift themselves above the throng.

On the other hand, the clipped powerchords of 'Keep Sleeping' sound tired, while the shambolic punk pastiche of 'Insomnia' is music for the Bill 'n' Ted generation. 'My Head Is In The Sun' may be the perfect soundtrack for a stoned Californian teenager but I, for one, could do without its deeply dippy sensibilities.

There's enough going on here to warrant your attention, and Seven More Minutes contains some potentially classic summer singles, but over the course of 15 tracks it sounds a bit jaded. The Rentals clearly have more substance and more ambition than the Green Days of this world, but The Pixies or Beck they ain't.