Just in time for Halloween.

An Oscar-nominated Hollywood heartthrob and his best friend round up a bunch of instruments-- some of which they don't know how to play-- and a massive children's choir and make a concept album about the supernatural. Seems like a recipe for disaster, right? Guess again. - Pitchfork.com

It occurred to me that I haven't written about any albums in a while. It also occurs to me that if you had said that the next album I wrote about would be by an actor, I would have laughed. Like most people, whenever I hear that an actor has decided to put out an album, my natural reaction is to roll my eyes. The last thing the word needs is another vanity project from the current Tiger Beat cover boy or Hanna Montana of the week. Past attempts have resulted in such bargain bin albums as Bruce Willis' Return of Bruno, Don Johnson's Heartbeat or opening acts like Keanu Reeves' Dogstar and Jared Leto's 30 Seconds to Mars. If you haven't heard of these, not to worry, it's likely best that way.

But sometimes...sometimes you get something really worth listening to. Past examples are She & Him, a collaboration of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel and the recently released Breakup by Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson. But now, Ryan Gosling has quietly and with little fanfare put out an album that is all concept and no conceit, experimental not overexposure, and pretty dang good. That would be Dead Man's Bones.

First as an actor; every woman in America knows Ryan Gosling from The Notebook, but if you've never seen Half Nelson I recommend you do. It's a powerful performance. Secondly, he's got some legitimate music chops. Like Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, Baby Goose (as I like to call him) was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club, and like those two (the exclusion of Britney Spears is intentional, y'all), this kid can actually sing.

He's put together a little band that consists of him and his best friend, and combined their mutual fascination with ghosts, monsters, graveyards, zombies or anything deathly to create a spooky little indie record.


They've enlisted a choir from the Silverlake Convervatory of Music, the Los Angeles music education facility co-founded by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The choir members' ages ranged from five to 17. Every Sunday afternoon for several months, Gosling and his buddy Zach Shields would rehearse and record with the kids. What's really surprising is the results. The sounds reflect a wide range of influences - a little bit of doo-wop and artists such as The Shangri-Las, The Cure, Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens. And the choir is reminiscent at times of A Charlie Brown Christmas, although this one would be more fitting for The Great Pumpkin.

This is the video for their song "In the Room Where You Sleep." In the clip, Gosling and Shields lead a bunch of kids, all dressed in Halloween costumes, through a spare acoustic lament.

It's creepy and catchy. It sounds like a middle school assembly gone goth. - Pitchfork.com
All of this gives Dead Man's Bones the feeling -- in the best possible way -- of a bootleg recording of an elaborate grade-school Halloween pageant. - AMG

DEAD MAN'S BONES - "NAME IN STONE" from biz3 publicity on Vimeo.