Writing about Dead Man’s Bones is going to be a little bit of a stretch here as I have a difficult time classifying them as a Canadian band even though Ryan Gosling, who is half the band, is technically a Canadian. Since he has the roots we will make a go of this.

If you are anything like me, you hear Ryan Gosling’s name and immediately groan while associating it with chickflick extraordinaire The Notebook. When I heard he had an album and it was posted on a secret forum of great music, I was skeptical and wondered if someones membership needed reviewing. Then I thought back to all the good movies he has been in including the Believer, Half Nelson and Lars and the Real Girl. His record is actually more credible than my gut reaction tells me. So I plugged in my headphones and listened to the album. Then I listened again and again.

Dead Man’s Bones self-titled album is really good and difficult to generalize. Pitchfork referred to it as a goth-folk collaboration. I hear experimental elements reminiscent of Animal Collective and a 50’s throwback influence that makes me think of The Raveonettes (with far less distortion). Ryan and his bandmate/friend Zack Shields even include classical musical elements such as a piano and choir to give Dead Man’s Bones a truly unique sound. It isn’t what you would expect from a celebrity’s side project, it is much better. The songs that really stand out to me are Buried in Water, My Body’s A Zombie For You and Paper Ships. Find it and I am sure you will find some favorites of your own. Til then you can listen to Buried Water posted below and a few other songs on their MySpace page.

listen