Release Date: Oct 6, 2009
Genre(s): Rock
Record label: Anti
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It's a blessing and a curse that one half of Dead Man's Bones is Academy Award-nominated actor Ryan Gosling. It's a blessing because Gosling and his partner, Zach Shields, undoubtedly got more attention for their self-titled debut album than they would have otherwise, and something of a curse because it may not be seen for as genuine a project as it is. Shields and Gosling originally conceived of Dead Man's Bones as a horror-themed musical, but kept the songs they had written when they realized putting on a stage production would be too expensive.
A musical outlet for quirky leading man Ryan Gosling and his slightly more civilian BFF Zach Shields, Dead Man’s Bones was destined from the beginning to draw comparisons to actors-turned-singers Scarlett Johansson and Zooey Deschanel. Thankfully, the likenesses end at SAG membership. Listening to Dead Man’s Bones, it’s easy to forget this is the same guy from The Notebook who cried, “It wasn’t over; it still isn’t over!” before lunging into a full-on tongue swap with co-star-cum-girlfriend-cum-ex-girlfriend Rachel McAdams.
Some records are an absolute void of interesting review angles, forcing us critics to do, like, actual work. Dead Man's Bones is not one of those records. Fact: Indie dreamboat and RealDoll lover portrayer Ryan Gosling is one-half of Los Angeles band Dead Man's Bones. Wow! Fact: Dead Man's Bones' self-titled debut is a concept album vaguely about supernatural themes, released less than a month before Halloween! Gee! Fact: The vast majority of Dead Man's Bones utilizes a real-life, full-on children's choir, recruited from hipster kid academy the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.
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