 Give Up was generally well @-@ received by music critics . It holds a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregate site Metacritic , indicating " generally favorable reviews " . Matt LeMay of Pitchfork Media called the album " a pretty damned strong record , and one with enough transcendent moments to forgive it its few substandard tracks and ungodly lyrical blunders " . Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly wrote that " Ben Gibbard radiates claustrophobia , so the shut @-@ in synth @-@ pop of this side project fits him like a leotard " , calling Give Up " the near @-@ perfect pop record that 's eluded his main group . " The Village Voice 's Robert Christgau praised its " staying power " and felt that " Gibbard 's delicate voice matches the subtle electro arrangements far more precisely than it does the folky guitars of his real group " . 
