A remarkable moment has arrived: Ryan Gosling is returning to the indie rock scene. Way back in 2009, Gosling teamed up with a man named Zach Shields, and the two bonded over the shared jolt of fear they felt on Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride. They began making music together under the moniker Dead Man’s Bones, releasing one striking album of eerie, folk-inflected songs, featuring backing vocals from the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir. They also played a handful of Halloween-season shows in 2009. Now, as fans had conjectured just a few days ago, Dead Man’s Bones return with their first new track in 17 years.
Since those days, Ryan Gosling has grown into an even bigger film star, while Zach Shields has carved out a place as a Hollywood screenwriter, contributing to some of the recent American Godzilla installments and the upcoming Weapons prequel Gladys. In interviews, Gosling has been vague about whether the group might ever come back, and the news of their comeback arrived as a welcome surprise. Today, they unveil a fresh single titled “Lost In The Night.”
As things stand, it isn’t clear whether “Lost In The Night” is a standalone release or the seed of a larger project. It’s impressive, though! It seems Gosling and Shields have done a good job of keeping this secret, given that it appears to have been in the works for some time. A press release explains that the duo tried recording at several Los Angeles studios without achieving the sound they wanted. Ultimately, their best results came when they hauled two guitars, two drum machines, and two synthesizers out to a farm outside the city and cut the track in a single day.
This go‑around the track forgoes the children’s choir, and its DNA doesn’t lean heavily toward Arcade Fire. Instead, “Lost In The Night” leans into a reverb-soaked, atmospheric goth-rock vibe with only a faint nod to rockabilly in the guitar lines. (A press release cites Bruce Springsteen and Suicide as influences, and there are hints of the Cure as well.) Gosling delivers the lead vocal with a lot of echo, yet his voice remains recognizable. The mix features a simple synth-driven backbeat, warm harmonies, a few glassy synth textures, and the kind of breathy backing vocals that evoke ’80s horror cinema. Throughout, the soundtrack carries the sound of crickets. And the accompanying press photo playfully shows Gosling as Frankenstein and Shields as a Wolfman.
There’s also a music video, though Gosling and Shields aren’t appearing in it—or they’re tucked away far in the background. (The clip also doesn’t hold a director’s credit.) Instead, the black-and-white video traces a tale of a young couple who begin in an above-ground graveyard—ambiguous whether it’s New Orleans or some European locale—before setting off on a romantic, not particularly gothic, nocturnal adventure. The leads, Noah Jupe (seen in the first two Quiet Place films) and Rain Spencer, known for The Summer I Turned Pretty and the indie drama Good Girl Jane, make a charming pair. Check it out below.
“Lost In The Night” is out now on Anti-.
