Lieutenant – “Believe The Squalor” (Stereogum Premiere)
![](https://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2015/01/lieutenant_cover.jpg)
As the bassist for Foo Fighters and Sunny Day Real Estate, Nate Mendel has been a part of two of the best, most notable rock bands of his generation. Now he’s fronting a band of his own. Mendel’s cheekily named new project Lieutenant will release their debut album If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week this March. Recorded between Foo Fighters tour dates last year with producer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business), it features an impressive guest list including Page Hamilton (Helmet), Joe Plumber (Modest Mouse), Josiah Johnson (The Head And The Heart), Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters), and Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate). As for the live band, thus far it has featured Mendel and Kasai pluys Jorma Vik (The Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx), Paul “Pablo” Wilson (Snow Patrol), and Christian Wargo (Fleet Foxes). That’s a lot of star power, but Mendel is front and center on lead single “Believe The Squalor,” his voice emoting smoothly against a melancholy minor-key progression and a sweeping mid-tempo rhythm. Hear it below.
If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week tracklist:
01 “Belle Epoque”
02 “The Place You Wanna Go”
03 “Believe The Squalor”
04 “Rattled”
05 “Prepared Remarks”
06 “Some Remove”
07 “Sink Sand”
08 “Artificial Limbs”
09 “Lift The Sheet”
Here’s Mendel without a hand across his face, by the way:
If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week is out 3/10 on Dine Alone. Pre-order it here.