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Former Lives

Benjamin Gibbard

Former Lives

The Death Cab for Cutie frontman with a first album under his own name and his first work released since his split with Zooey Deschanel

ADM rating[?]

6.2

Label
Barsuk
UK Release date
22/10/2012
US Release date
16/10/2012
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  1. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Offers selections from his musical diary. Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Q

    Now storytelling itself appears to be his great escape. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   Blurt

    Gibbard's first solo effort entices with fare that's wonderfully dissimilar from beginning to end
    Read Review

  4. 7.5 |   Paste Magazine

    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
    Read Review

  5. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    iIt’s full of ideas, and bodes well for any future solo output from the Death Cab frontman, but lacks the singular destination which would lift it from “very good” to “great”
    Read Review

  6. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    Simply a charming patchwork collection of songs from just shy of the last decade
    Read Review

  7. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    A solo set of Beatles-nuzzling ballads so pretty they'd make any actress jealous
    Read Review

  8. 7.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Cleverly-crafted guitar pop with an emotional core that never over-eggs its inherent smarts
    Read Review

  9. 7.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    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
    Read Review

  10. 6.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    It’s fun to see the songwriter try his hand at new things, even if for the most part they only constitute subtle tweaks in the formula
    Read Review

  11. 6.0 |   Pitchfork

    Whereas Gibbard uses gloopy metaphor and cloying rhyme within Death Cab to open up new possibilities for emotional expression, Former Lives employs the same methods to ultimately insulate songs that don't have much of a core
    Read Review

  12. 6.0 |   Spin

    For 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 learne
    Read Review

  13. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Falls prey to typical solo album problems, like stylistic explorations that a band might correctly veto as ill-fitting throwaways
    Read Review

  14. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Bears few scars of his recent divorce from Zooey Deschanel, suggesting there's nothing like melodic pop for cauterising emotional trauma
    Read Review

  15. 5.8 |   A.V. Club

    The album is all over the place both thematically and musically
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  16. 5.0 |   All Music

    With 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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  17. 5.0 |   Slant Magazine

    It's all very pretty, but none of it means much in context because Gibbard refuses to get as personal as he's been in the past
    Read Review

  18. 5.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Though Former Lives is certainly flawed, there’s many a moment when you’re simply unable to forget his talents
    Read Review

  19. 4.0 |   The Skinny

    Jettisoning the light experimentalism that’s characterised recent Death Cab for Cutie releases, Gibbard offers in its place a comparatively bland collection cobbled together over an eight-year period
    Read Review

  20. 3.8 |   Bowlegs

    Won’t offend you in any way, but neither will it excite, or capture your attention for more than the occasional fleeting moment
    Read Review

  21. Back to main chart

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Benjamin Gibbard: Former Lives

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Shepherd’s Bush Lullaby £0.89
  • 2. Dream Song £0.89
  • 3. Teardrop Windows £0.89
  • 4. Bigger Than Love £0.89
  • 5. Lily £0.89
  • 6. Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke) £0.89
  • 7. Duncan, Where Have You Gone? £0.89
  • 8. Oh, Woe £0.89
  • 9. A Hard One to Know £0.89
  • 10. Lady Adelaide £0.89
  • 11. Broken Yolk in Western Sky £0.89
  • 12. I’m Building a Fire £0.89
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