John Carpenter’s ‘Lost Themes IV: Noir’ Review: Carpenter and Sons take inspiration from classic Hollywood on new album of moody instrumentals.
★★★★★
John Carpenter is one of cinema’s most unique filmmakers. A director who scored most of his own films, he understands the importance of sonic architecture in conveying mood and atmosphere for his horror, action, and sci-fi filmography.
Ten years ago, he entered a new career phase, focusing almost solely on music. He created Lost Themes, an album of synth-driven compositions for films that don’t exist (or, in his own words, “for the movies that are playing in your mind“).
That album, created with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, was so successful it led to an entire series of albums, including Lost Themes II and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death, showing a growing sophistication in sound that added sinew and nuance to the filmmaker/composer’s classic skeletal musical framework.
This is turn led to him releasing new versions of prior scores, as well as composing music for films he didn’t direct, including David Gordon Greene’s Halloween trilogy and the recent Firestarter remake. It also cemented his legacy as one of the most influential figures in electronic music, and the godfather of the synthwave movement.
Carpenter and family return with Lost Themes IV: Noir, (May 3, Sacred Bones Records) which sees the trio influenced by classic film noir. This doesn’t mean they’re going old-school with an orchestra, but it does allow for adding new shades and atmospherics to his signature sound.
A case in point is opening track My Name Is Death, an ominous soundscape defined by lumbering bass, oceanic synths, stomping beat and churning guitar, that evokes a more Gothic take on his classic Assault on Precinct 13 theme.
Machine Fear is a spectral delight, with ghostly wailing string synths, a haunting rolling piano figure, clattering drum machine and punchy guitar, while Last Rites sees the trio getting their metal on, sounding like a fusion of Metallica and Black Sabbath, making for a striking counterpoint with the track’s fragile, piano motif and twinkling backing synths.
The Burning Door’s tragic melody recalls Laurie’s Theme off the 2018 Halloween soundtrack, powered by emotive piano, while He Walks by Night channels classic monster movie atmospherics punctuated by a skittering beat and crystalline synths.
Beyond the Gallows continues this approach to intensity, with a dark, majestic arrangement offset by a subtle Asian melody, while the gritty Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers’ galloping beat, clipped guitars and siren synths tips its hat to Carpenter’s Escape From New York score.
Guillotine would fit perfectly onto a video game soundtrack, which makes total sense given Carpenter’s love for gaming, offering a mix of goth and prog with its avalanche of sound.
The album closes with Shadows Have a Thousand Eyes – a showstopper that is the culmination of all that has come before: electronic wails, arpeggiated synths and snarling guitars, which, appropriately, sounds like the closing credits to a movie.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is yet another example of both Carpenter’s unerring knack for crafting evocative instrumentals, embellished by the exceptional musical alchemy he creates with his family. There’s not a dud in the bunch, and it might just be their best work to date. Fans will eat it up, giving just enough material to satiate them while they impatiently await Lost Themes 5.
Buy Lost Themes IV: Noir on Amazon