{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox album | name = Lost Themes | type = studio | artist = John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies | cover = John Carpenter - Lost Themes.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|2015|2|3}} | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = Electronic | length = {{Duration|m=47|s=53}} | label = Sacred Bones | producer = | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = John Carpenter | type = studio | prev_title = Assault on Precinct 13 | prev_year = 2003 | title = Lost Themes | year = 2015 | next_title = Lost Themes Remixed | next_year = 2015 }} {{Extra chronology | artist = Cody Carpenter | type = studio | prev_title = Pro-Life (Masters of Horror) | prev_year = 2006 | title = Lost Themes | year = 2015 | next_title = Lost Themes Remixed | next_year = 2015 }} {{Extra chronology | artist = Daniel Davies | type = studio | prev_title = I, Frankenstein | prev_year = 2014 | title = Lost Themes | year = 2015 | next_title = Lost Themes Remixed | next_year = 2015 }} }}
'''''Lost Themes''''' is the debut studio album by American film director and composer John Carpenter. It was released on February 3, 2015, through Sacred Bones Records.<ref name="p4k12">{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/news/57258-sacred-bones-releasing-horror-icon-john-carpenters-debut-solo-album-lost-themes-share-vortex/ | title=Sacred Bones Releasing Horror Icon John Carpenter's Debut Solo Album Lost Themes, Share "Vortex" | publisher=Pitchfork | date=November 3, 2014 | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Minsker, Evan}}</ref> Carpenter created ''Lost Themes'' in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies.<ref name="res_advisor_1-29-15">{{cite web|last1=Stannard|first1=Joseph|title=John Carpenter: A brand new world|url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2392|website=Resident Advisor|publisher=Resident Advisor Ltd.|accessdate=4 October 2016|date=29 January 2015}}</ref> While ''Lost Themes'' is his first stand-alone album, Carpenter has composed numerous critically acclaimed soundtracks for films since the 1970s, including for the films ''Assault on Precinct 13'', ''Halloween'', and ''Escape from New York''.
==Background== On the album's production and recording, Carpenter stated: {{blockquote|''Lost Themes'' was all about having fun. It can be both great and bad to score over images, which is what I’m used to. Here there were no pressures. No actors asking me what they’re supposed to do. No crew waiting. No cutting room to go to. No release pending. It’s just fun. And I couldn’t have a better set-up at my house, where I depended on Cody [Carpenter] and Daniel [Davies] to bring me ideas as we began improvising. The plan was to make my music more complete and fuller, because we had unlimited tracks. I wasn’t dealing with just analogue anymore. It’s a brand new world. And there was nothing in any of our heads when we started other than to make it moody.<ref name=p4k12 /> }}
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings |MC = 74/100<ref name="mc"/> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="allmusic"/> | rev2 = ''Consequence of Sound'' | rev2Score = B<ref name="cos-review"/> | rev3 = ''Exclaim!'' | rev3Score = 8/10<ref name="exclaim"/> | rev4 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev4Score = 7.6/10<ref name="p4k-review"/> | rev5 = ''PopMatters'' | rev5Score = 7/10<ref>''[http://www.popmatters.com/review/190136-john-carpenter-lost-themes/ Popmatters]'' February 6, 2015</ref> | rev6 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev6Score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="rs1"/> | rev7 = ''The Skinny'' | rev7score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/john-carpenter-lost-themes|title=John Carpenter – Lost Themes|website=The Skinny|last=Kerr|first=Dave|date=28 January 2015|access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Uncut'' | rev8Score = 7/10<ref>These immersive, synth-driven compositions may never match the brooding atmosphere of the filmmaker's early scores like Halloween and Assault On Precinct 13, but still have much to commend. [Mar 2015, p.73]</ref> | rev9 = ''Under the Radar'' | rev9score = 6.5/10<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/john_carpenter_lost_themes/|title=John Carpenter - Lost Themes|website=Under the Radar|last=Wojtas|first=Michael|date=February 3, 2015|access-date=October 27, 2025}}</ref> }} Upon its release, ''Lost Themes'' received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 74, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 12 reviews.<ref name="mc"/> Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares stated that "a big part of ''Lost Themes''{{'}} brilliance lies in Carpenter's refusal to update his aesthetic — the more '80s it is, the more vital it sounds." She also further commented: "As he leaps from one thrill to the next, he evokes his past without rehashing it, delivering a complete and immensely satisfying portrait of his music along the way."<ref name="allmusic"/> ''Consequence of Sound'' critic Dan Bogosian thought that "Carpenter’s limited instrumentation started as a strength," writing: "these ''Lost Themes'' could stand with any of his horror soundscapes."<ref name="cos-review"/> ''Exclaim!'' critic Cam Lindsay described the album as "a brand new soundtrack that doesn't require a film" and observed: "Carpenter knows exactly how to appease his fans, and with ''Lost Themes'', he has given them just what they want."<ref name="exclaim"/> Aaron Leitko of ''Pitchfork'' wrote: "''Lost Themes'' is plenty dark and heavy but shorter on inspiration."<ref name="p4k-review"/> Andy Beta of ''Rolling Stone'' was mixed in his assessment of the album, stating: "The icy synths of "Vortex" and "Fallen" evoke vintage Carpenter dread, but the prog-pomp of "Domain" and "Mystery" are the aural equivalent of too much CGI."<ref name="rs1"/>
==Charts== The album debuted at number 44 on the UK Albums Chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Charts: John Carpenter|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/32522/JOHN-CARPENTER|website=official charts company|accessdate=1 March 2015}}</ref> Stateside, Lost Themes peaked at #129 on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Billboard John Carpenter Chart History|magazine=Billboard |url=http://www.billboard.com/music/john-carpenter}}</ref>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = | extra_column = | total_length = 47:53 | all_music = John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies | title1 = Vortex | length1 = 4:44 | title2 = Obsidian | length2 = 8:24 | title3 = Fallen | length3 = 4:44 | title4 = Domain | length4 = 6:33 | title5 = Mystery | length5 = 4:35 | title6 = Abyss | length6 = 6:06 | title7 = Wraith | length7 = 4:30 | title8 = Purgatory | length8 = 4:38 | title9 = Night | length9 = 3:38 }} {{Track listing | headline = Digital bonus tracks | extra_column = | title10 = Night | note10 = Zola Jesus and Dean Hurley remix | length10 = 3:39 | title11 = Wraith | note11 = ohGr remix | length11 = 3:51 | title12 = Vortex | note12 = Silent Servant remix | length12 = 5:10 | title13 = Fallen | note13 = Blanck Mass remix | length13 = 6:29 | title14 = Abyss | note14 = J. G. Thirlwell remix | length14 = 5:29 | title15 = Fallen | note15 = Bill Kouligas remix | length15 = 6:14 | total_length = 1:18:45 }}
==Personnel== * John Carpenter – composition, performance, engineering * Cody Carpenter – composition, performance, engineering * Daniel Davies – composition, performance, engineering * Jay Shaw – design * Kyle Cassidy – photography
==Legacy== ''Lost Themes: 10th Anniversary Expanded Edition'', an expanded edition of the original album, was released on May 9, 2025, via Sacred Bones Records, and will feature two previously unreleased songs: "Cruisin' with Mr. Scratch" and "Dominator".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/music/3852439/john-carpenter-announces-lost-themes-10th-anniversary-expanded-edition-with-new-songs/ |title=John Carpenter Announces 'Lost Themes: 10th Anniversary Expanded Edition' with New Songs |website=Bloody Disgusting |first=Alex |last=DiVincenzo |date=January 28, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2|refs= <ref name="allmusic">{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/lost-themes-mw0002776318 | title=John Carpenter - Lost Themes | publisher=Allmusic | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Phares, Heather}}</ref>
<ref name="cos-review">{{cite web | url=https://consequence.net/2015/01/album-review-john-carpenter-lost-themes/ | title=John Carpenter – Lost Themes | publisher=Consequence of Sound | date=January 30, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Bogosian, Dan}}</ref>
<ref name="exclaim">{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/john_carpenter-lost_themes | title=John Carpenter - Lost Themes | publisher=Exclaim! | date=January 30, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Lindsay, Cam}}</ref>
<ref name="mc">{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/lost-themes/john-carpenter/critic-reviews | title=Lost Themes - John Carpenter | publisher=Metacritic | accessdate=February 5, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="p4k-review">{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20091-john-carpenter-lost-themes/ | title=John Carpenter - Lost Themes | publisher=Pitchfork | date=February 5, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Leitko, Aaron}}</ref>
<ref name="rs1">{{cite web | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/john-carpenter-lost-themes-20150203 | title=John Carpenter - Lost Themes | publisher=Rolling Stone | date=February 3, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2015 | author=Beta, Andy}}</ref> }}
==External links== * {{official website|http://johncarpenter.sacredbonesrecords.com/}} {{John Carpenter}}
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Category:2015 debut albums Category:John Carpenter albums Category:Sacred Bones Records albums