He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup The Postal Service.

His father was in the Navy and his family moved around the country, including spending time in Northern Virginia before returning to Washington.

After receiving a positive response to the material, Gibbard expanded the project into a full band, with the addition of guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Nathan Good.

[9] Gibbard had a minor role in the John Krasinski film Brief Interviews with Hideous Men based on the David Foster Wallace short story collection of the same title.

[20] Gibbard is a lapsed Catholic who now identifies as agnostic:[21] "I don't want to falsely believe in something solely so I can jump to the front of the line for whatever this awesome place is we go after we die.

Gibbard said of the song: "Lyrically, 'Million Dollar Loan' deals with a particularly tone deaf moment in Donald Trump's ascent to the Republican nomination.

While campaigning in New Hampshire last year, he attempted to cast himself as a self-made man by claiming he built his fortune with just a 'small loan of a million dollars' from his father.

[32] Gibbard played songs by his bands Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service and other artists such as the Decemberists, Radiohead, New Order, Depeche Mode and the Beatles while promoting local Washington non-profit organizations.

[38] In the past, Gibbard played 1980s Japanese-built Squier Bullets through a Sears Silvertone amp, which he immortalized in the lyrics to the song No Joy In Mudville.

[43] On Sun Kil Moon's follow-up album, Universal Themes (2015), primary recording artist Mark Kozelek again refers to his friendship with Gibbard on its closing track, "This Is My First Day and I'm Indian and I Work at a Gas Station".

In the episode, April (Aubrey Plaza) attempts to promote a forest cabin to hipsters by claiming that "Ben Gibbard and Neko Case made out here once.