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Oct 18, 2012Comprised of many songs he has tucked away for years, the album is everything one might expect from a Gibbard solo album: daring, delicate, verbose and indelible.
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Alternative PressOct 19, 2012Gibbard isn't reinventing himself with Former Lives, but after a decade and a half in the business, he proves he's still got a lot to say. [Nov 2012, p.88]
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Oct 15, 2012Former Lives rolls along with solidly steady results, but there aren't too many songs that stand out.
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Dec 17, 2012For those who have been along for the ride since the beginning this anthology is like unlocking a shiny, new bonus track for each of Gibbard's efforts since Something About Airplanes.
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Oct 12, 2012His earnest songwriting still skews saccharine, but more often than not, Former Lives is lovely.
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Oct 23, 2012Gibbard has better demonstrated his strength as one of the best songwriters of the last decade in the past, but ardent fans will appreciate the effort here.
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Oct 16, 2012Gibbard's songwriting holds up in the gently varied sonic settings here though nothing feels as immediate as his day job in Death Cab for Cutie.
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Oct 16, 2012Former Lives is a true solo album, with Gibbard showcasing a memorable and rewarding set of odds and ends from the last eight years of his songwriting career.
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Q MagazineNov 21, 2012The Death Cab For Cutie man turned his vision to a series of alternate realities. [Dec 2012, p.105]
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Oct 16, 2012It's heartbreak made perfect, and there are loads of perverse pleasure in that.
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Dec 7, 2012In terms of overall quality though, it has to be said that things noticeably pick up in the album's second half, as any traditional indie rock sensibilities that Gibbard may have initially had start to recede and are replaced by a grittier, slightly more abstract edge.
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Oct 12, 2012Gibbard's carving out new musical territory on Former Lives, while amplifying the broken heart of what makes his sound so wonderful.
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UncutOct 26, 2012His first solo outing has enabled Ben Gibbard to try on new stylistic contexts as if they were outfits. [Dec 2012, p.71]
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Oct 12, 2012It's simply a charming patchwork collection of songs from just shy of the last decade that never found a voice amongst the catalogue of Gibbard's other projects.