veröffentlichung Sacred Bones Records: JOHN CARPENTER'S LOST THEMES IV: NOIR

[Alexander Grodzinski]

It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years since, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies have released close to a dozen musical projects, including a growing library of studio albums and the scores for David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween reboots. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it. “Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films,” Davies notes. “But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”

The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.

“This is who we are, I think,” John summarizes. “Daniel’s the adventurer. He pushes for new sounds, new directions. He tries things that I haven’t thought of. He’s a lot more daring than I am, and he enriches the whole thing. Cody’s the musician. He’s a savant at music. He understands music. We depend on him to rescue us.”

And what about John’s contribution? With characteristic understatement, he concludes: “I’m the experience. I’ve done music for movies before.”

-Brad Sanders

***Sacred Bones Exclusive Color: Edition of 1000 copies, pressed on Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7" and a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket***

***Sacred Bones Record Society version: Edition of 150 copies, pressed on Black and White Splatter on Clear vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7" and a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket, in an exclusive wrap around sleeve, wax sealed, hand-numbered and available by mail-order only. ENROLL HERE.***

All vinyl copies come with a massive 24x36" fold-out poster.

Release Date 5/3/24

 

1. My Name Is Death 05:40 Video

2. Machine Fear

3. Last Rites

4. The Burning Door

5. He Walks By Night

6. Beyond the Gallows

7. Kiss the Blood Off My Fingers

8. Guillotine

9. The Demon's Shadow

10. Shadows Have A Thousand Eyes

[Alexander Grodzinski]

Der zweite Track wurde veröffentlicht:

 

[Nightwalker]

Habe das Album bisher drei Mal durchgehört. Von allen Lost Themes Alben gefällt mir dieses bisher in Gänze am Besten. Hat paar richtig schöne "Rock"-Passagen, einige wunderbare Piano Arpeghios, viele schöne Synthies und klopfende Bass-/Synth Drums

[Alexander Grodzinski]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb Nightwalker:

Habe das Album bisher drei Mal durchgehört. Von allen Lost Themes Alben gefällt mir dieses bisher in Gänze am Besten. Hat paar richtig schöne "Rock"-Passagen, einige wunderbare Piano Arpeghios, viele schöne Synthies und klopfende Bass-/Synth Drums

Ich habe das Album jetzt zweimal durch. Der erste und der letzte Titel sind meine persönlichen Highlights. Insgesamt finde ich aber, dass sich die Stücke sehr ähneln. Das war schon bei LOST THEMES III der Fall, die ersten beiden Alben finde ich da abwechslungsreicher.

Wenn ich haarspalterisch wäre, würde ich fragen, warum das Album NOIR heißt, denn es ist Carpenter-Musik "wie immer". Bei dem Thema hätte ich mir wohl mehr "sinistere" Musik erwartet, wie in IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS. Aber durch die meisten Tracks stampfen Carpenters Gitarrenriffs, was ich jetzt nicht direkt mit Noir verbinde. Aber sei es drum, es ist schön, dass er am musizieren so viel Spaß hat.

[TheRealNeo]

Aber genau dieses Abweichen, auch mit E-Gitarre, wird ja im Ankündigungstext angesprochen. 
Man muss es fühlen.