Former Lives

Other cities, other plans; different friends, different dreams; former loves, former lives. After fifteen years in Death Cab for Cutie, Ben 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.''