Ryan Gosling has a new music video out, and no, it’s not another song from Barbie. His band Dead Man’s Bones has returned with “Lost in the Night,” its first new song in 17 years, accompanied by a spooky black-and-white video starring Noah Jupe and Rain Spencer.
If you missed Gosling’s musical era the first time around, welcome to the club. I’m discovering this band for the first time myself, and this one might be finding a place on my Halloween playlist. Don’t be confused, though. This isn’t a cover of Lost in the Shadows from The Lost Boys soundtrack. I’m not gonna say it’s better, either. Just watch.
Dead Man’s Bones is the musical duo of Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields, who released their self-titled debut album in 2009 before the project went dormant. That record blended eerie, old-fashioned sounds with gothic folk and doo-wop, including performances by the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir. The new single keeps the spooky atmosphere while leaning into a more driving rock sound, with guitars and synths giving it a sound that feels right at home as the nights get longer.
The “Lost in the Night” video follows Jupe and Spencer as they leave a cemetery and wander through the city after dark. The monochrome photography gives the whole thing a vintage ghost-story feel, though the mood is more romantic than frightening. There’s a sense of two people slipping away from the rest of the world for a night, which fits the song’s longing to find someone and stay with them. And it might mirror Halloween night for some of you loonies out there, if you’re lucky enough to find that spooky someone who knows how to color your pumpkin the right shade of grey.
According to the band’s label, ANTI- Records, Gosling and Shields struggled to find the right sound while trying out several Los Angeles studios. They eventually took two guitars, two drum machines, and two synthesizers to a barn outside the city and recorded the track in a single day. Tim Anderson, who worked on the duo’s first album, produced the new song. This news comes to us from Rolling Stone.
I somehow missed Dead Man’s Bones back when Gosling was making music in the late 2000s, so I’m coming to this without years of nostalgia attached to the band. “Lost in the Night” makes a strong first impression, though. It has that slightly haunted quality that makes a song feel especially good in October, without sounding like it was assembled from the usual Halloween playlist ingredients. It’s more like a punch bowl full of outdate salted caramel apple cider than it is a pumpkin full of mallow candy.
There’s no word yet on whether the single is leading to a new Dead Man’s Bones album. The band has teased that more is coming, so this may be the beginning of a longer return rather than a one-off release. For now, the new video is here, the song is available to stream, and I have another track to add to the Halloween rotation.
