# Album of the Week: Ben Gibbard’s Debut Solo Album, ‘Former Lives’

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2012/10/album-of-the-week-ben-gibbards-debut-solo-album-former-lives/
- Published: 2012-10-20T04:21:58-04:00
- Author: Max Hammer

[[Considering his prolific and respected work during the past decade, it’s kind 
of surprising that **Ben Gibbard**, frontman of bands like **Death Cab For Cutie**
and the **Postal Service**, is just now getting around to releasing his first solo
album. For the long-awaited LP, _Former Lives_, Gibbard repurposes a collection 
of songs that did not make it on Death Cab’s releases during the past eight years.

As a revered singer/songwriter and musician, Gibbard has been one of the most influential
figures of indie pop for more than a decade, and he delivers yet again on his solo
effort, showcasing his nuanced,  emotive and often romantic music that is accessible
to almost everyone. It’s hard to imagine, when he’s at his best, that anyone who
appreciates quality pop  songs could turn away from his music, and there are more
than a couple tracks on _Former Lives_ that fans will take to right away, and a 
few that will likely become staples of his live solo performances.

“Teardrop Windows” – **Ben Gibbard** from _Former Lives (#2 on Amazon; only $5.00
for MP3 album – for limited time)_

While he maintains, overall, the style and sounds of his finest work with Death 
Cab, Former Lives offers a wonderful diversity of genres that range from acoustic
folk pieces to upbeat pop melodies (“Bigger Than Love” and “Duncan, Where Have You
Gone?”), Mariachi flavors mixed with mesquite western (“Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke)”
and alt-country-rock (“Broken Yolk in the Western Sky”), to more traditional singer-
songwriter compositions (the beautiful “Lady Adelaide”).

On the gorgeous, quintessential ballad, “Lady Adelaide,” Gibbard woos listeners 
with a perfectly beautiful melody and his unmistakably tepid, sensitive vocals. 
The catchy “Bigger Than Love” is a sprawling, rhythmic and evocative pop track that
makes it easily one of the album’s stand out tracks, and as impressive as anything
Gibbard has ever released. The track’s terrifically catchy chorus establishes “Bigger
Than Love” as one of the most memorable songs from _Former Lives_. Other stand outs
include the country-like jangle pop of “Teardrop Windows” and the acoustically uptempo,“
A Hard One To Know,” that even includes a subtle synth riff that doesn’t drown out
the acoustic guitar, but instead compliments it.

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[“Bigger Than Love”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/04-benjamin_gibbard-bigger_than_love.mp3)–**
Ben Gibbard** from _Former Lives_

[“A Hard One To Know”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/09-benjamin_gibbard-a_hard_one_to_know.mp3)–**
Ben Gibbard** from _Former Lives_

For Death Cab fans, _Former Lives_ is a must-have album, not merely because it’s
Gibbard’s debut solo album, but also because it sounds much like a new Death Cab
album, with the exception of the genre tour de force. However, it must be said that
some of the songs on the album make it possible to understand why they didn’t make
it onto a Death Cab release. Still, overall, _Former Lives_ is yet another fine 
example of Gibbard’s masterful songwriting and musical skills, and reaffirms his
trademark  evocative, sensitive style.

Plus, _Former Lives_, for the first time, provides fans with an unfettered opportunity
to hear Gibbard on his own, without the support of his long-time band Death Cab 
band members. In a sense, Gibbard’s solo album puts a different spin on what we 
normally consider to be ‘unplugged’ in that the album is a stripped down Gibbard
without his usual line-up. We were fortunate enough to sample some of the material
on _Former Lives _a couple of years ago when Gibbard performed one of his first 
solo shows at SXSW.