''Lost Themes'' is the debut studio album by American film director and composer

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

. It was released on February 3, 2015, through

Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Blanck Mass, Crystal Stilts, Maris ...

. Carpenter created ''Lost Themes'' in collaboration with his son

Cody Carpenter John Cody Carpenter (born May 7, 1984) is an American musician and composer. He is the son of film director John Carpenter and actress Adrienne Barbeau. Carpenter is mostly known for his work with his father and musician Daniel Davies, as well as ...

and his godson Daniel Davies. While ''Lost Themes'' is his first stand-alone album, Carpenter has composed numerous critically acclaimed

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

s for films since the 1970s, including for the films '' Assault on Precinct 13'', '' Halloween'', and ''

Escape from New York ''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American science fiction film, science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter. It stars Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne B ...

''.

Background

On the album's production and recording, Carpenter stated:

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Lost Themes'' received positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 74, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 12 reviews. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Heather Phares stated that "a big part of ''Lost Themes'' brilliance lies in Carpenter's refusal to update his aesthetic -- the more '80s it is, the more vital it sounds." She also further commented: "As he leaps from one thrill to the next, he evokes his past without rehashing it, delivering a complete and immensely satisfying portrait of his music along the way."

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

critic Dan Bogosian thought that "Carpenter’s limited instrumentation started as a strength," writing: "these ''Lost Themes'' could stand with any of his horror soundscapes." '' Exclaim!'' critic Cam Lindsay described the album as "a brand new soundtrack that doesn't require a film" and observed: "Carpenter knows exactly how to appease his fans, and with ''Lost Themes'', he has given them just what they want." Aaron Leitko of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

wrote: "''Lost Themes'' is plenty dark and heavy but shorter on inspiration." Andy Beta of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' was mixed in his assessment of the album, stating: "The icy synths of "Vortex" and "Fallen" evoke vintage Carpenter dread, but the prog-pomp of "Domain" and "Mystery" are the aural equivalent of too much CGI."

Charts

The album debuted at number 44 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. Stateside, Lost Themes peaked at #129 on Billboard 200.

Track listing

Personnel

– composition, performance, engineering * Cody Carpenter – composition, performance, engineering * Daniel Davies – composition, performance, engineering * Jay Shaw – design * Kyle Cassidy – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 debut albums John Carpenter albums Sacred Bones Records albums