AHEAD FULL OF STREAM (Theme For A Jackal Edition):
DEAD MAN’S BONES
‘DEAD MAN’S BONES’
ANTI-
Let’s not beat around the bush, Dead Man’s Bones embody a certain late October ethos and eschew any of the corniness related to and around Halloween and or cutesy child choirs. There is nothing un-calculated about what Zachary Shields and Ryan Gosling create under their Dead Man’s Bones guise. They pull off the unthinkable and manage to do so in such a charming and artistic manner.
On paper, this has all the possibility of being an absolute train wreck: Hollywood A-List actor, a near singular aesthetic, kids, a penchant for old-timey instruments, kids, spookiness, handsome Hollywood hunk, lots and lots of children singing…………and yet, it works!! I mean it works brilliantly.
Name one celebrity’s band that isn’t terrible (She & Him barely squeak by thanks to the affable M. Ward). The bar has been set so impossibly high by the likes of Gosling, Shields, and their army of angel voiced child ghouls when it comes to musical groups containing a very famous celebrity.
2009′s ‘Dead Man’s Bones’ is the group’s sole artistic statement (at least on record) and what a fine statement it is. Gosling and Shields seem beyond capable of creating great songs in a conventional way, but their idea of adding choir like harmonies via The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir was an ingenious one. Not only does the inclusion of the Silverlake Choir set them apart from other indie (and non-indie) acts, it appropriately ups the eerie ante they were going for.
Again, the idea of utilizing a children’s choir could have gone terribly wrong, but under the artful eye of Gosling and Shields it only helps reinforce the spooky undercurrent of the songs (is there anything more brilliant than a group of kids singing the line “like a lamb to his slaughter”).
“In the Room Where You Sleep” is the quintessential drama club Goth anthem and Gosling straight up delivers with some serious sullen croon. Lets be honest here (and it should be noted that I harbor an enormous man crush on the guy) who knew that The Gos had such a rich vocal croon.
“My Body’s a Zombie for You” is Goth doo-wop at its finest and in a just world the go to Halloween dance number for children and adults alike. There’s no reason “Pa Pa Power” shouldn’t have been a huge smash, I mean listen to the damn thing, its exudes hooks for days. “Lose Your Soul” and “Werewolf Heart” drip with detached cool and are swagger filled to the max.
I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you and let the music speak for itself. So do yourself a favor and spend one of the remaining hours before All Hallows’ Eve soaking in the eerie goodness of ‘Dead Man’s Bones.’
**Originally published October 22nd, 2015 (long before La La Land was such a “controversy”)**
Dead Man’s Bones eerie self-titled LP is out now via ANTI- Records
