Ryan Gosling is reuniting his rock band after a 17-year hiatus. Dead Man’s Bones is back. The 45-year-old Canadian actor founded the monster-themed band in 2007 with his friend Zach Shields, and the duo released their first album in 2009, recorded with the children’s choir of the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Gosling had earned his first Oscar nomination two years before the band, for Half Nelson.
The duo last performed together in 2010. On Thursday (October 22), the pair uploaded a video to the band’s Instagram page announcing that a new track will be released on October 27. In the video, also shared by Gosling’s wife Eva Mendes, a man says, “A dead man’s bones must wait to rise.” Mendes, 52, shared the video on her own account with the note, “He kept his promise to me.”
Gosling released his first solo album in 2000. He met Shields in 2005. At the time, Gosling was with Rachel McAdams, while Shields was with the actress’s sister. The duo’s love of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland inspired the band, and the pair, who learned to play all the instruments themselves for the album, promoted it with concerts at churches and synagogues, followed by cabarets.
The Barbie song was also a nominee. In 2023, Gosling said of a possible reunion, “I never say never”; the Barbie song I’m Just Ken was nominated for an Oscar.
Why it matters
Ryan Gosling’s return to music coincides with one of the most visible periods of his career, thanks to Barbie; a star who was Oscar-nominated with I’m Just Ken reviving his old band means Dead Man’s Bones will appear before a much wider audience than it did in 2009. Whether the band — an unusual side project that promoted its first album in churches, synagogues, and cabarets — will preserve this identity will become clear from the scale at which the new track is presented. Gosling’s 2023 remarks, which did not rule out a reunion, coming to fruition two years later suggests the decision was not a spontaneous gesture but a plan that had been in the works. Since the announcement is limited to a single track, it is unclear whether this will evolve into a new album or the duo’s first joint concert since 2010. The answer to that question will show whether the comeback is a nostalgic one-off or a lasting reunion.