[4] A month before studio time in September, Iero slipped from a ladder and broke his wrist which delayed the session to December.

[2] "Grey Veins" is a "masterful" emo composition with a "massive" chorus,[2] high vocals and "thundering" drums.

[2] "It Takes Time" is a "powerful" song,[11] while "Bombsquad" features "garotte-sharp" political observations[2] inspired by Green's disgust with Donald Trump and the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack.

[18][19] "Bombsquad" was released as the third single on October 21, 2022,[16] alongside a live video of a performance at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, New York.

To support the album's release, YouTube Music advertised Past Lives on the Nashville Sign billboard.

[21] BrooklynVegan's Andrew Sacher opined that the album "exceeds expectations" for a supergroup, characterizing it as "personal, impactful music".

[2] Writing for Dork, Rob Mair praised Green's "typically powerful performance" but criticized the songs "Blender" and "2022" for being more "pedestrian" than others.