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Lieutenant might be a solo endeavour from Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel, but anyone expecting the bouncy rock associated with his day job may be disappointed. While the Foos are known for their zany humour, Mendel always gave the impression of being the wallflower of the band, and If I Kill This furthers this assumption.

The album has alt.rock guests from bands such as Modest Mouse and Mendel’s now-defunct Sunny Day Real Estate, but the music is softer, more drawn to the airier end of the indie spectrum.

There are jangly twangs of folk and prog, and the songs occasionally veer into rockier territory with sunny vibes, and in particular, there are echoes of The Shins and The Alan Parsons Project. Mendel’s soft vocals set the tone and tempo, but his voice is so unassuming that it veers on passive and sounds like it’s presented almost with a shrug.

There is skill on display, but the album is unlikely to progress beyond background music./o:p

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Hannah May Kilroy has been writing about music professionally for over a decade, covering everything from extreme metal to country. She was deputy editor at Prog magazine for over five years, and previously worked on the editorial teams at Terrorizer and Kerrang!. She currently works as the production editor for The Art Newspaper, and also writes for the Guardian, Classic Rock and Metal Hammer.