Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: entertainment, film, john carpenter, Lost Themes, music

John Carpenter's Album Lost Themes Is A Haunting, Rocking Journey

Published Thu, 26 Feb 2015 18:15:12 -0600

By Dylan Gonzalez

"I can play just about any keyboard but I can't read or write a note."

-John Carpenter

At this point in his career, John Carpenter has to have developed a firm grasp on the ability to write and create music. When I first started delving into Carpenter's filmography, I was surprised to see he was often the man behind his film's soundtracks too. At the young age that I was watching these films, that astounded me. My conception of filmmaking was that there was a clear-cut job for everybody. A director also scoring his films? That was unheard of to me. But what would a ten-year-old know?

What it says now is that Carpenter was, and still remains, a highly versatile director. I have always loved the dichotomy of his films. The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China rank very highly in terms of my favorite films and the only thing they share in common is Kurt Russell (and even then, one had him in a beard and the other in the greatest mullet ever). His soundtrack work clicked with me too. It was simple, predominantly making great use of the synthesizer, and always effective for setting the mood. Don't get me wrong; a full on orchestra is great. There was just something so fitting to Carpenter's work as a musician that gelled so well with the story he was presenting.

When I heard that Carpenter was finally branching out to release an album of his own, I was psyched. It just seemed fitting that after all these years, Carpenter was giving us an album without the confines of a story. It would be his unique approach to music. Lost Themes was envisioned not as a soundtrack to a nonexistent film, but as Carpenter getting free reign. It was his chance to really flesh out the music he uses in his films and give it its own identity.

The sound to Lost Themes is consistent throughout. Synthesizers are the main instrument of use here and I don't just mean one. Carpenter (along with composer Daniel Davies and son Cody) layers each track heavily with individual synth lines. On a given track we may hear a very standard repeating chord coupled with a long angelic sounding note and piano. To spice things up, there is also some guitar sprinkled throughout and some programmed drum beats. I can go either way on programmed drums, but here it sounds only fitting. I found that the guitar work is not overly complex, but it adds a new level to the songs that it pops up in.

The first track, "Vortex", sounds like the overture to one of his films. I could envision it complimenting a credits sequence. It begins with a rising intro, similar sounding to Gyorgy Ligeti's "Overture: Atmospheres" famously used in 2001: A Space Odyssey, before transitioning into a mellow piano theme. Then the synths start up, followed by guitar riffs. It is a killer opening track. The mood is ominous and foreboding, but at the same time, the beat keeps you hooked. Something is coming. Something is going to happen. Probably bad.

From there we move into "Obsidian", which has a very 80's horror film-sounding intro and then transitions into a guitar and drum beat driven track. To me, I am hearing some Nine Inch Nails influence here, creating a sort of industrial light sound with a subtle 80's guitar rocking in the background. The next standout track for me was "Domain" which features a progressive rock influence. It bounces back and forth between piano and deep tone synth and a upbeat keyboard riff reminiscent of Emerson, Lake & Palmer before descending into straight electronic mayhem. "Mystery" continues on with the progressive rock influence.

"Abyss", "Wraith" and "Purgatory" to me sound like classic Carpenter themes. The haunting but grooving synth sound distinctive to Carpenter drives them all. "Abyss" makes you feel like you are adrift in space, lost with no chance of return. "Wraith" features an eerie choir of angelic voices and closes out with a wailing guitar. "Purgatory" is mostly solemn piano and light synth, evoking traits of his soundtrack on The Thing and Escape from New York. The last two minutes take a change of pace with a King Crimson sounding drum and piano coupling.

"Night" is the closing track of the album and it may be the best track on the album. The aggressive, heavy synths that repeat throughout the song ooze with dread. Some additional synth and piano are layered in, but it never really departs from its sound. Though simple, it feels frantic, like something is pursuing you in the dark.

For fans of John Carpenter, this is a dream (nightmare?) come true. Despite the album having a fairly consistent sound to it, Carpenter really shines here. With the added bits of influence ranging from progressive rock, industrial and new wave, we get a really cool album not weighed down by the narrative of story. Carpenter is taking us on a haunting (and occasionally rocking) journey through his musically creative mind.

Dylan Gonzalez happens to love beer and comic books and luckily found a place to write about both because he has no idea how to actually make money in the real world. He lives in a cave in New Jersey, currently listening to "Lost Themes" on loop. Tweet him at @BeardedPickle, follow his own beer blog at http://boozegeek.tumblr.com/ or email him at dylan.gonzalez1990@gmail.com.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!