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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Oct 15, 2012While the record doesn't completely clear the bar, all things considered, it doesn't fall too far short.
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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 16, 2012What's most frustrating about Former Lives is that for every single shining moment there are two or three that subsequently fall flat.
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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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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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Nov 9, 2012Former Lives shares similarities with Gibbard's Postal Service work; elsewhere his scattershot stylistic approach weakens songs.
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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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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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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, 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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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.