With good news, comes the bad, John Carpenter fans. The acclaimed genre director and composer will be releasing Lost Themes II on April 15, a follow-up to last year’s soundtrack-esque Lost Themes. And he’ll be touring—but to Spain, Iceland, and England only.
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According to Sacred Bones Records, the new album will be even more “fluid and thematic” than the first; it will also feature the talents of John’s son, Cody Carpenter, and his godson, Daniel Davies.
Unlike their first album, when they often worked over the internet exchanging themes over the course of several years, this time all three brought in sketches and worked together in the same city, a luxury they weren’t afforded on the first Lost Themes. The result was a more focused effort, one that was completed on a compressed schedule — not unlike Carpenter’s classic, notoriously low-budget early films.
... The musical world of Lost Themes II is also a wider one than that of its predecessor; more electric and acoustic guitar help flesh out the songs, still driven by Carpenter’s trademark minimal synth. This manifests itself brilliantly in songs like the lead single “Distant Dream,” which hitches a familiar Carpenterian beat to an expressive drum performance and rides it to a thrilling conclusion. The eerie “Angel’s Asylum” lets an ethereal synth line command the first three-quarters of the song, before turning over the melody to an acoustic guitar, and “Virtual Survivor” delivers a blast of the sci-fi menace that characterized his great scores for films like Assault on Precinct 13 and They Live. Lost Themes II delivers eleven compelling new tracks with which fans can continue to score the movies in their minds.
Carpenter and company will hit the road this summer and fall, but don’t get too excited, especially if you live in the United States. If you do, please feel free to join me in reading these tour dates and gnashing your teeth:
Jun 2 - Barcelona ES, Primavera Sound
Jul 1-3 - Ásbrú IS, ATP Iceland
Oct 28 - Manchester UK, Albert Hall *2nd show added!*
Oct 29 - Manchester UK, Albert Hall
Oct 31 - London UK, Troxy
Carpenter is no doubt quite busy with his day job
Top image: Director John Carpenter stands with a poster of his latest movie “Escape From L.A.” on Friday, August 9, 1996 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)