Indie Light

Dead Man’s Bones is an American Gothic rock duo made up of actor and musician, Ryan Gosling who performs under the alias “Baby Goose” and screenwriter, producer, director and musician, Zach Shields. The entire album was done in collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir (which is a non profit organisation founded in 2001 to support underprivileged children, and was co-founded by Michael Peter Balzary more commonly known as Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers). Today I will be reviewing Dead Man’s Bones debut self-titled album which was released October 2nd 2009.

‘Intro’ opens with storm clouds, and a woman’s vocals, her voice powerful and cold, creating a dramatic and spooky atmosphere right off the bat. It’s a strong and enigmatic way to kick us in, and gives a flavour of the upcoming album without spoiling too much either. 

‘Dead Hearts’ has building vocals, they sound like the howling of the wind, or a spectre calling out into the void. It’s a really cool undercurrent to the album even as Gosling’s vocals kick in, his voice has a depth and maturity to it, the percussion equally is halting and slow, everything has this weight and substance to it, the beating percussive element evoking the ‘Dead Hearts’ spoken about in the title. It’s an incredibly rich and raw track. A lot is happening, but everything serves the greater cause of creating a haunting atmosphere. The energy of the track overall is slow and methodical, it has heavier, more frenetic moments but the core of this track is much darker and has genuine weight to it. 

‘In the Room Where You Sleep’ keeps with the trend of building haunting notes, before exploding into a fun and quirky funeralesque melody, and more superb, husky vocals from Gosling. It’s a very energetic track, kicking things up a notch after some moodier and slower numbers. It’s an awesome performance that equally builds a vibe. I like the delivery, it has a far off quality, like it’s sung from beyond the looking glass. The quirky tones really serve this track well. But also the guitar and drum combo as well are superb, high energy and just awesome. Also I really enjoyed the acoustic percussion from the clapping, it added something unique to the track. 

‘Buried in Water’ has haunting piano chords, striking forward, building a dramatic and powerful melody, you just fall into this track. If I’m correct the piano is played by Gosling, and he does a phenomenal job. It really creates a dark and heavy vibe, and the Silverlake’s choir add their vocal talents which alongside Gosling’s own contributions create something incredibly dark and poignant. I am just blown away by this. It has some of the strongest vocals on an album with no songs that slack, just the counterpoint and power of Gosling, and the Youth choir, the voices in concert, and counterpoint to one another is an incredibly cool experience. 

‘My Body’s a Zombie for You’ is slightly quirkier, the acoustic guitar and vocals from Gosling are good, but Shields’ drums, and overall percussive contributions, throughout but especially in this track are outstanding. Equally good though are Silverlake’s vocal additions, they add a certain something to the track, which would be good without but are elevated by their energetic harmony. It’s incredibly close, so much so I may change my mind on a subsequent listen, but this track is my personal highlight of what’s been an absolute top notch album.

‘Pa Pa Power’ is very energetic, you feel the power and bounce of this track, the funky electronic beats create a really nice vibe, and yet another superb addition from the Silverlake choir. I love the balance between the solitary vocals, and then the full harmony, it’s a really strong counterpoint. I think this song is easily one of the catchiest and bounciest on the album. It’s got a great hook, and an even greater melody. 

‘Young & Tragic’ opens with sustained tones, which build and add, becoming more complex as they get louder, the result is a really punchy melody that has a nice forward momentum and development. More solid drum work from Shields, he manages to create a really solid percussive element throughout, which has highs and lows, always accentuating the core melody and never overpowering it. That’s not to say it doesn’t become the focal point of the show and points but it isn’t uncontrolled and that’s really cool. 

‘Paper Ships’ is soft and melodic, gentle vocals and light percussion brings us in, this is easily another example of some of the best vocal work from Gosling on the album. His voice has a nice depth and smoothness to it that really works well. He’s also a really emotive performer, and you get the melancholic vibe he’s laying down really easily. 

‘Lose Your Soul’ opens with a tight drum fill, it creates a solid momentum that carries forward as the strings merge it, the result is a track that’s got solid forward pacing, and even as it progresses it builds, the melody fleshing out nicely. This is another really jaunty and catchy track, and you just get swept away in the dreamy vocals, and the powerful melody. The choir kicks in at the perfect time, adding even more pathos and weight to the track.

‘Werewolf Heart’ kicks off with light piano keys, and a soft acoustic guitar, it creates a bright, and relatively stripped back melody, the drums kicking in to provide added texture and weight, tying the whole track together quite nicely. Once again, I need to comment on Gosling’s vocals. He’s clearly talented and he’s found a solid depth to his voice in this performance, joining him in this track is the female performer from the opening number, her voice again is just hauntingly beautiful and really serves this track well. Perhaps my favourite element is the almost desperate energy as it wraps up, the clashing guitar and drums creating a really strong vibe as the track finishes. 

‘Dead Man’s Bones’ opens with a nice drum fill, and some more hearty and atmospheric vocals, the result is a strong and heavy track, that explodes forward, full energy, guitars and bass, and drums just building, against a haunting choral vocal delivery. The spooky voices add to the overall vibe of the track, and you just get caught up in the energy of the number. Equally the crying is haunting in a whole other way, it saps the energy, which is really cool and just really draws you in, before once again exploding into an evocative and engaging explosion of energy and instrumentals. 

‘Flowers Grow Out of My Grave’ begins with acoustic guitar, and a more talk style delivery, it begins to build a more steady melody and the energy shifts upward, it’s a fun song that ties together the vibe and the collaborative feel of the entire album really well. It’s a very strong entry to an album I’m genuinely surprised isn’t more of a hit.

So that’s what I thought of Dead Man’s Bones debut self-titled album and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and support the band by following them on Facebook.