Review: John Carpenter - Lost Themes
By Sam Carroll, Contributor
[Sacred Bones; 2015]
Rating: 6.5/10
Key Tracks: “Vortex,” “Purgatory,” “Night”
Lost Themes is John Carpenter’s debut solo album. Known for directing The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China and Prince of Darkness, he also scored the music for his films Halloween, The Fog and Assault on Precinct 13.
According to the artist, the idea behind the album was to make something that could be used for a movie. Despite the album not being associated with a film, Lost Themes does well at creating imagery in the listener’s mind.
“Vortex” opens the album with guitar feedback and synth doused in reverb. Throaty piano chords follow up with the synth trailing its rhythm, an approach Carpenter often used in earlier compositions. The overall effect is eerie but lacks any horror-movie vibes. Hard bass lays down a moderately fast tempo while piano and synth handle a majority of the rhythm, but occasionally switch lead work with the guitar. The most eerie yet best-sounding moment of the track is when all of the instruments stop, except the piano and synth. The piano plays a bone-chilling bridge while the synth sings in the background.
“Vortex” acts as a double-edged sword. It’s good in that it sounds like Carpenter’s earlier recordings, but it has a nostalgia about it that makes it sound like it could be used as the opening theme for a Miami Vice knockoff.
“Purgatory” is the most organic track on the album. The first half of “Purgatory” is solely driven by orchestral strings and some chords strummed on acoustic guitar. Piano brightens the acoustic’s dark tone and adds percussive sustain; The tone makes one imagine that, if this were a movie, a character would have just died.
The rest of the track would be great if it didn’t switch to an upbeat groove. The change from gloomy to happy is too abrupt to be an effective change and have a positive impact on the listener.
“Night” closes the album on a dark note. The track’s rhythm is driven by a chunky, low frequency synth. A pulsating guitar with slight delay adds to the brooding atmosphere and handles the lead work. The most interesting element is a third low frequency synth that swells throughout the track. The entire vibe sounds like something to be used in the scene when a patrol cruiser slowly scans an area for enemies with its searchlight.
Lost Themes’ sound is not cohesive, but John Carpenter’s style brings each track together. All of the tracks incorporate eeriness into their sound; Some do so for the sake of adding depth to instruments, while others incorporate it for the mood. Lack of cohesiveness aside, Lost Themes is a solid debut for John Carpenter.
