MUSIC is strewn with acrimonious splits, which makes Nick Hodgson’s departure from Kaiser Chiefs in 2012 possibly one of the most amicable on record.

The Leeds outfit’s erstwhile drummer and co-songwriter neither slagged off nor was slagged off by his former bandmates; they’re all still apparently friends and occasional collaborators, and his reason for seeking the door was simply that he wanted to spend less time touring and more in the studio. And his debut solo album is a reflection of this preference.

None of the songs on Tell Your Friends is designed to be belted out while crowdsurfing, bounding around or trying to climb the lighting rig. Instead, they’re the work of a production-desk craftsman with a significant number of shares in optimism and breeziness. Hodgson, clearly an affable chap, doesn’t seek to make sweeping global statements or social commentary. He just seems to love life and doesn’t mind who knows about it.

This persona gives Tell Your Friends a chilled, Seventies-style feel redolent of the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and a slew of tracks that pay homage to the sheer delight of having people you love or simply like in your life.

It doesn’t always serve him well – opening track RSVP, in particular, is the sort of parping tweeness that The Feeling used to inflict on us – but the slick production and Hodgson’s soothingly neutral voice mean excessive sentimentality can be overlooked, and Feel Better and Don’t Forget To Go To Sleep hint at an artist discovering more about where his talent can take him as a solo artist.

Refreshingly, it’s almost completely devoid of laddishness, and dares to be introspective without being cynical. You kind of want Nick Hodgson to succeed on his own terms. Tell Your Friends indicates there’s every chance of that happening.

Mark Stead