There's no question that The Rentals are back. The only thing left up in the air is what version of The Rentals make their return: Is it that fun-loving, new wave and synth sporting young Rentals of Return of the Rentals, or is it that somehow less intriguing mature Rentals, the one that put down the new wave sweets to fling off in every which direction on Seven More Minutes?

It's a lot more of the former, though anyone hoping The Rentals have another big radio single up their sleeve are going to leave Last Little Life a little disappointed. After letting the band lay fallow foresight years, front man Matt Sharp regroups with his band and drops some of the more repressing attempts at proving his musical worth that were the foundation of Seven More Minutes. And why not? It's years since he quit Weezer and even longer since The Rentals' "Friends of P" caused a little stir on the radio -- enough time for Sharp to realize that both bands' successes -- whether he was in them at the time or not -- more often come from dropping into nearly exalting doses of pure pop.

With that guiding its hand, Last Little Life gets straight to the point and zooms back to gooey pop numbers. Although the keyboards aren't quite as dominant in the mix -- nor do Sharp and company rely upon them as much as they used to -- this EP hints that the band will be heading off into a slightly more lighthearted direction than what its predecessor gave us. Sharp's breezy vocals rule over "Last Romantic Day," as the act mixes viola, keys and straight-up pop guitar work for a track that gives the lilting world of bedroom pop a pure-pop sugar coating. "Life Without a Brain" and "Little Bit of You in Everything" slide back into the slippery synths that defined Return of the Rentals, the former's as carefree as any self-consciously silly number can get, while the latter hides hints at the band's more sophisticated pop innards. "Sweetness and Tenderness" makes a final bid for The Rentals to slip into the indie-pop canon, with Sharp and Sara Radle hinting that the act's spent its downtime soaking up as many Lucksmiths records as Big Star classics.

Sharp's back and ready to do things right this time: Instead of getting too fouled up in experiments and chasing hopes of expanding the band's sound, he's back to making music simply for the fun of it. It shows on Last Little Life, too, as The Rentals' real return is worth keeping an eye fixed upon.