It’s been a year since Death Cab’s released a new album (so not that long ago), but lead singer Ben Gibbard’s got some creative energy flowing that he needs to release, this time in solo form.

The album is called Former Lives and is slated for an Oct. 16 release date through Death Cab’s former label Barsuk. Gibbard has said that he’s planning a small tour to accompany the 12-track album as well, but the dates and tracks have yet to be released.

In an interview with Stereogum, Gibbard clarified that his solo venture has nothing to do with disappointments or arguments with Death Cab, saying, “It certainly doesn’t come out of like ‘I have all these songs to record and I’m not getting my fix with the band.’  In the past whenever I’ve put out any solo recordings it’s just been of a function of the time in which I was in. I’m a songwriter and that’s my job, and with every record that we’ve made there would always be a couple of tunes that just didn’t seem to fit in with the band.”

I’m relieved, considering the band literally just finished the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati on Sunday. Looking forward to the solo release!