There have been teases from across John Carpenter’s social media accounts and now we know what they’re for. For people hoping for a new movie or something like that, it wouldn’t come about this way; it had to be new music. Now, we know. Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest release from John Carpenter. It’s the fourth in a series that started back in 2015 with Lost Themes, Lost Themes II in 2016, and then Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Lost Themes IV: Noir will be released on May 3rd from Sacred Bones Records. John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies wrote and performed the album.
To celebrate the occasion and give us a taste of what we can expect, they released the music video for the first single, “My Name Is Death.” The music video was directed by Ambar Navarro and stars Natalie Mering, Staz Lindes, and Misha Lindes. Here’s what John Carpenter had to say about the album.
“Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema. We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album. The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”
Here’s what Sacred Bones had to say about the album.
“Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV ‘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.
It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that became the initial Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts,” the label explains. “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.
It helped that they grew up in a musical environment. Daniel’s dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies, and he would pop by the L.A. studio – the same one the Lost Themes records are made in today – to jam, or to perform at wrap parties for John’s films. That innate free-flowing chemistry helps Lost Themes IV: Noir run 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.”
The Tracklist For Lost Themes IV: Noir
1. My Name is Death
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
There’ll also be multiple editions for the album including:
- Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- CD
- Tape
Pre-order Lost Themes IV: Noir right here!
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