Photo: ©Andrew Stuart 2015
Nate Mendel is bassist for the Foo Fighters and Sunny Day Real Estate has recently released an album called “If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week” under the moniker of Lieutenant. The album was released March 10th, so it’s available to stream and purchase now.
Lieutenant is Mendel’s first time singing lead and performing guitar as a soloist. The new record also features a handful of notable guest musicians including Page Hamilton (Helmet), Joe Plummer (The Shins, Modest Mouse), Josiah Johnson (Head and the Heart), Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate) and Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters).
From the opening song the album has a mid-tempo melancholic and nostalgic tone about the music with his song Belle Époque (French for Beautiful Age). The production is very similar to Foo Fighters with only an occasional rocker. Those rocker reflect elements you can find in Punkish/Metalish bands like The Foo Fighters or Weezer. The songs Rattled and Prepared Remarks falls under these sensibilities. The influence of Joe Plummer isn’t lost in these recordings with the more dream like soundscapes on Prepared Remarks, Some Remove and Lift the Sheet, which echoes more of The Shins vibe. The production is maximized in such a way to minimize Nate Mendel’s lack of vocal range. For the most part it works but there moments where things get a little strained. The most powerful and meaningful performances come out in the songs The Place You Wanna Go and Artificial Limbs.
For any fans of The Shins or Foo Fighters this can make a nice addition for their catalogue rounding out a definitive collection. For the average music fan who are wanting to expand to becoming a more knowledgable music collector this will fit nicely towards that goal. There’s a wistful charm to the”If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week” that plays well for reflection on those grey days that is similar in feel to Fleetwood Mac‘s Bare Trees or Genesis’ Wind and Wuthering. That’s pretty good company to be in when it come to music pedigree. Lieutenant will be playing the Troubadour April 8th.
