First Listen: Dead Man’s Bones - Dead Man’s Bones
DIY ask, is 'Half Nelson'’s album half decent?
Posted 14th October 2009, 3:10pm in Features, by Alexia Kapranos
As soon as you mention that the lead guy from 'Half Nelson' and 'The Notebook' is releasing an album, one of two thoughts echo through the minds of your fellow music fans: “Oh no! Not another “ScarJo” try-hard chasing indie cred?” or “God, I hope it’s nothing like Russell Crowe or any of that 30 Seconds To Mars shite?” Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling, however, with his collaborator Zach Shields, may have just shown that we, the public, should not be so quick to judge by releasing one of the most interesting records to arrive at DIY HQ this year. So, here’s a track-by-track low-down of 'Dead Man’s Bones' by Dead Man’s Bones. 1. 'Intro'
Immediately strange – all that is heard is a blowing wind as a woman’s spoken word introduces the album.
2. 'Dead Hearts'
The gust continues to gather eerie momentum as Arcade Fire-sounding “Ohs” sweep over the meadow, but somehow the song remains both stirring and understated.
3. 'In the Room Where You Sleep'
Opens up with an ‘Incense and Peppermint’-style organ and Gosling’s voice creeps in with a raspy quality that is not a stone’s throw away from Roy Orbison cross-bred with a Frankenstein version of Tom Waits and Win Butler. His vocals are a revelation on a pulsating track that wouldn’t sound out of place filed next to ‘Light My Fire’.
4. 'Buried In Water'
The Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir, who feature on most of the album, reinforce that anxious feeling you get when you’re in an old church graveyard after midnight. In the same way that 'The Exorcist' and 'The Omen' make you suspicious of children, the blend of young voices, an old man whistling and a mournful croon from Gosling, evoke a feeling of committal in this chilling little underwater ‘Ghost story’.
5. 'My Body’s A Zombie For You'
More of the Arcade Fire-esque “Oh”s against a ‘Lonely This Christmas’ style-lilt interspersed with the choir chanting “My body’s a zombie for you”. The tune fades out and you are left with the sound of kids chattering and clapping, before banging out the word Z.O.M.B.I.E like they’re on their way to the annual Spelling Bee finals – a sonic mosaic and one of the most fascinating songs on the record.
6. 'Pa Pa Power'
This is an electric piano-led track, with the ‘devil’s spawn’ insisting that they “won’t destroy you” over a more pop orientated vocal as opposed to the lo-fi soundscape of the rest of the album. The nearest these guys are going to get to being played at an indie clubnight.
7. 'Young And Tragic'
This track uses the choir and their muted speech, as well as light shades of calypso, to create a vibe of calm contemplation about magic and youth.
8. 'Paper Ships'
Sounds like a Barbershop quartet has been paid to sing 'Sh-Boom’ over a boy making scary ‘ghost’ sounds with a pillow over his head. The verse itself is reminiscent of the innocence of choice Moldy Peaches’ songs with the junior high-school overtones being beautifully layered by the choir once more.
9. 'Lose Your Soul'
One of the album’s highlights. Both the choir and Gosling’s deep vocals are particularly sinister here, and the urgent clapping rhythm, clanging bells and piano add more than a touch of spook to this haunted house of a track. Horror punk slowed down and minus any heavy excess.
10. 'Werewolf Heart'
Opens with the clinking of notes on the highest end of the piano scale and minimalist percussion, hedging between a male vocal and some female spoken-word, before a crescendo into a bizarre cacophony of wraithlike moans.
11. 'Dead Man’s Bones'
The title track has Cramps-style ‘Halloween’ backing vocals and what sounds like a woman weeping to the drum bashing and punch of the masculine yelps for a “Dead man’s bones”.
12. 'Flowers Grow Out Of My Grave'
This time a male narrative kicks off a track, which descends into an upbeat and nursery rhyme chorus from the children of “When I think about you flowers grow out of my grave”.
The Verdict
Interestingly, the drawn-together image of “flowers” and “graves” seem to nicely encapsulate the charm of this choir-laced indie-folk effort – showing that both the “sweet” and the “dark” can coexist and complement each other to create an artefact that is as unusual as it is intriguing. Overall, 'Dead Man’s Bones' is an impressive and rewarding debut record from Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, the “Oscar-nominated actor”, “singer/songwriter” and “musician”. So, with DIY’s new open mind, it begs the question: how’s Joaquin Phoenix coming along with that rap album?
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