Benjamin Gibbard
Benjamin Gibbard has confirmed the European release of his debut solo record for November 12th on City Slang and today premieres the first glimpse at it’s contents.
Other cities, other plans; different friends, different dreams; former loves, former lives. After fifteen years in Death Cab for Cutie, Benjamin Gibbard didn’t make his first solo album in search of a new beginning; instead, it closes a door.
'These songs span eight years, three relationships, living in two different places, drinking then not drinking' he says of the dozen tracks that comprise ‘Former Lives’. 'They’re a side story, not a new chapter.'
The first track from ‘Former Lives’ to make it’s way online, ‘Teardrop Windows’, is about Seattle’s Smith Tower.
It began as an unabashed attempt to, in Benjamin’s words, 'write a Big Star inspired song,' but quickly morphed into something else entirely.
The Smith, built in 1914, was once the jewel of the Seattle skyline but has since been forced out of the frame by the iconic Space Needle and other taller or otherwise attention-grabbing structures.
'To me, it represents the things we take for granted when something newer, bigger and flashier comes into our lives,' Benjamin explains.