{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Lost Futures | type = studio | artist = Marisa Anderson and William Tyler | cover = Lost Futures.jpg | alt = An abstract painting of a mountain adjacent to a lake with the sun low in the sky. | released = August 27, 2021 | recorded = September 2020 | venue = | studio = Flora Recording & Playback, Portland, Oregon | genre = Ambient,<ref name="lq"/> blues, Americana<ref name="popm"/> | length = 41:09 | label = Thrill Jockey | producer = {{hlist|Anderson|Tucker Martine|Tyler}} | chronology = William Tyler | prev_title = Goes West | prev_year = 2019 | next_title = Frozen Shelter | next_year = 2021 | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = Marisa Anderson | type = studio | prev_title = The Quickening | prev_year = 2020 | title = Lost Futures | year = 2021 | next_title = Still, Here | next_year = 2022 }} {{Singles | name = Lost Futures | type = studio | single1 = Lost Futures | single1date = March 18, 2021 | single2 = Hurricane Light | single2date = June 4, 2021 | single3 = At the Edge of the World | single3date = August 24, 2021 }} }} '''''Lost Futures''''' is a studio album by American guitarists Marisa Anderson and William Tyler, released August 27, 2021, via Thrill Jockey.<ref name="announce">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/marisa-anderson-and-william-tyler-announce-new-album-share-lost-futures-listen/ |title=Marisa Anderson and William Tyler Announce New Album, Share "Lost Futures" |work=Pitchfork |date=March 18, 2021 |access-date=June 26, 2021 |author=Strauss, Matthew}}</ref> ''Lost Futures'' was recorded by producer Tucker Martine at his Portland, Oregon recording studio Flora Recording & Playback<ref name="popm"/> over a five day session in early September 2020.<ref name="foxy">{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=Brad |date=October 26, 2021 |title=Different Futures: A Conversation With Marisa Anderson & William Tyler |work=Foxy Digitalis |url=https://foxydigitalis.zone/2021/10/26/different-futures-a-conversation-with-marisa-anderson-william-tyler/ |access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref>
== Background == The pair first decided to make an album together after performing at a David Berman tribute concert in Portland in January 2020.<ref name="uncut" /> In describing their meeting, Anderson said, "There was an obvious and immediate affinity musically and personally, which led to the feeling that we should try and do something together."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sodomsky |first=Sam |date=June 9, 2021 |title=The 51 Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2021 |work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-51-most-anticipated-albums-of-summer-2021-billie-eilish-thom-yorke-migos-and-more/ |access-date=December 10, 2022}}</ref>
The album is inspired by, and named in reference to, Jacques Derrida's philosophical concept hauntology, and particularly Mark Fisher's writing on the subject in his work ''Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures''. Tyler had been gifted a copy of Fisher's book by his manager Ben Swank.<ref name="uncut" /> In an interview, Tyler admitted he hadn't read the book at the time they made the album, and Anderson wasn't familiar with Fisher, but they agreed that they both liked the phrase for their album title and were inspired by their interpretation of it. Tyler said that, having read the book subsequently, he found Fisher to be "not a very hopeful person in his writing", and that the pair "wanted to re-contextualize something about the concept of lost futures. There's an opening there rather than a closed door."<ref name="foxy" />
The album was preceded by three singles: the title track released March 18, 2021,<ref name="announce" /> "Hurricane Light" released June 4,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Todd |first=Nate |date=June 4, 2021 |title=William Tyler & Marisa Anderson Share New Single "Hurricane Light" |work=JamBase |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/william-tyler-marisa-anderson-new-single-hurricane-light |access-date=July 5, 2022}}</ref> and "At the Edge of the World" released August 24.<ref>{{Cite news |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=August 24, 2021 |title=Marisa Anderson & William Tyler - "At the Edge of the World" |work=Stereogum |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2158442/marisa-anderson-william-tyler-at-the-edge-of-the-world/music/ |access-date=July 5, 2022}}</ref>
== Packaging == The album's front cover was made by the artist Sam Smith. The back cover features a photograph by Anderson of an abandoned theme park in Louisiana.<ref name="foxy" />
== Reception == {{Music ratings | title = ''Lost Futures'' ratings | MC = 82/100<ref name="mc">{{Cite news |title=''Lost Futures'' by Marisa Anderson Reviews and Tracks |work=Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/lost-futures/marisa-anderson |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="am">{{Cite news |author=Monger, Timothy |title=''Lost Futures'' - Marisa Anderson, William Tyler |work=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lost-futures-mw0003493818 |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Loud and Quiet'' | rev2score = 6/10<ref name="lq">{{Cite news |author=Francis, Alex |date=August 31, 2021 |title=Marisa Anderson and William Tyler - ''Lost Futures'' |work=Loud and Quiet |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/marisa-anderson-and-william-tyler-lost-futures/ |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Mojo'' | rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite news |author=Mulvey, John |title=Marisa Anderson & William Tyler - ''Lost Futures'' |work=Mojo |url=https://archive.org/details/mojo-07.21/page/85/mode/1up |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev4score = 7/10<ref name="pf">{{Cite news |author=Goldner, Sam |date=August 27, 2021 |title=Marisa Anderson / William Tyler: ''Lost Futures'' Album Review |work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/marisa-anderson-william-tyler-lost-futures/ |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev5 = ''PopMatters'' | rev5score = 8/10<ref name="popm">{{Cite news |author=Ingalls, Chris |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Marisa Anderson and William Tyler's ''Lost Futures'' Is a Stunning Collaboration |work=PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/marisa-anderson-william-tyler-lost-futures |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Spectrum Culture'' | rev6score = 85/100<ref name="spec">{{Cite news |author=Hazelwood, Holly |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Marisa Anderson/William Tyler: ''Lost Futures'' |work=Spectrum Culture |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2021/09/01/marisa-anderson-william-tyler-lost-futures-review/ |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Uncut'' | rev7score = 8/10<ref name="uncut">{{Cite news |author=Pattison, Louis |title=Marisa Anderson and William Tyler ''Lost Futures'' |work=Uncut |url=https://archive.org/details/uncut-september-2021/page/24/mode/2up |access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref> }} {{Metacritic album prose|Lost Futures|positive|82|7}}<ref name="mc"/> AllMusic's Timothy Monger wrote that "it might take a number of listens to fully appreciate ''Lost Futures''{{'}} peculiar spread of dynamics. But, like any grower, its slow revelation is part of its charm."<ref name="am"/> ''PopMatters''{{'}}s Chris Ingalls wrote that the "brilliant artists" Tyler, Anderson, and Martine "are bursting with creativity and bold ideas", and that the album "may be dotted with nostalgia, but it's most definitely a bold move forward."<ref name="popm"/> Holly Hazelwood wrote for ''Spectrum Culture'' that ''Lost Futures'' is "one of the best albums of 2021 not because it's daring or because of what it has to say, but because its craftsmanship is such that you'll be mad that this is (as of now) all that we have to listen to from the duo."<ref name="spec"/>
''Loud and Quiet''{{'}}s Alex Francis wrote that the "album's artwork makes it clear that the album is also about climate change in the broadest possible sense", but that "This doesn't make it through to the music itself, which is largely too pleasant and meandering to really make clear the threat, sorrow and chaos of rapid climate change. The album's understanding of climate change is less nuanced than Daniel Bachman's excellent ''Axacan'', which made clear the connections between extractive colonial capitalism and global heating without losing the music's emotional core". Francis also said that "The bottom line is that this album does not reshape Americana in a new image, like the work of Bachman, Yasmin Williams, or Gwenifer Raymond. But, realistically, that's because William Tyler and Marisa Anderson already did that years ago and their influence is only beginning to be fully felt. It's enough for ''Lost Futures'' to offer some more to completionists while giving a good introduction to those who are newly exploring the genre".<ref name="lq"/>
== Track listing == {{Track listing | headline = ''Lost Futures'' track listing | total_length = 41:09 | all_writing = Marisa Anderson and William Tyler. All tracks are produced by Anderson, Tyler, and Tucker Martine | title1 = News About Heaven | length1 = 3:56 | title2 = Lost Futures | length2 = 2:54 | title3 = Pray for Rain | length3 = 5:14 | title4 = Something Will Come | length4 = 6:02 | title5 = At the Edge of the World | length5 = 6:16 | title6 = Hurricane Light | length6 = 3:56 | title7 = Life and Casualty | length7 = 4:05 | title8 = Haunted by Water | length8 = 8:43 }}
== Personnel == * Marisa Anderson – guitars, songwriting, producing, photography * William Tyler – guitars, songwriting, producing * Tucker Martine – producing, recording, mixing, drums, bass * Cole Halverson – recording and mixing assistant * Gisela Rodriguez Fernandez – violin, viola * Patricia Vásquez Gómez – quijada * Amy Dragon – mastering * Sam Smith – cover art * Daniel Castrejón – design
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Marisa Anderson}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2021 collaborative albums Category:Thrill Jockey albums Category:Marisa Anderson albums Category:William Tyler (musician) albums Category:Albums produced by Tucker Martine Category:Ambient albums by American artists Category:Blues albums by American artists Category:Americana albums Category:Instrumental duet albums Category:Albums recorded at Flora Recording & Playback