Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Nov 9, 2012Former Lives shares similarities with Gibbard's Postal Service work; elsewhere his scattershot stylistic approach weakens songs.
-
Oct 17, 2012Former Lives also falls prey to typical solo album problems, like stylistic explorations that a band might correctly veto as ill-fitting throwaways... and songs too slight to appear on a major release.. Yet [other] songs hint at how good Former Lives could have been had Gibbard simply indulged his pop storyteller side.
-
Oct 16, 2012For all his three relationships spanned and catchy tunes composed, Gibbard is too nice to dish it out, and too bland to reveal any meaningful lessons learned.
-
Oct 15, 2012Even as he shifts from his typically elliptical songwriting to more structure-bound forms, he never sounds overly fussy. It makes Former Lives a brisk listen even when the songs themselves aren't particularly innovative.
-
Oct 15, 2012While the record doesn't completely clear the bar, all things considered, it doesn't fall too far short.
-
Oct 16, 2012While still being firmly planted in the category of mainstream indie rock, the album is all over the place both thematically and musically.
-
Nov 9, 2012While it's obviously been personally cathartic, you have to think that it's far from the best record Benjamin could have put out.
-
Oct 16, 2012What's most frustrating about Former Lives is that for every single shining moment there are two or three that subsequently fall flat.
-
Oct 12, 2012With all its clean-cut melodies and smirky introspection, even Death Cab fans might have a hard time finding Former Lives more than a collection of melancholy, whimsical tunes.