Lost Themes (10th Anniversary Expanded Edition) ［LP+7inch］＜Hot Pink Vinyl＞

『Lost Themes』の10周年を記念して、Greg Ruthのアートワークによるアルバムのエクスパンデッド・アート・エディションがリリース。オリジナルのレコーディング・セッションからの未発表トラック2曲を収録した7インチを追加。

『Lost Themes』の10周年を記念して、Sacred BonesはGreg Ruthのアートワークによるアルバムのエクスパンデッド・アート・エディションをリリースする。このスペシャル・リリースには、オリジナルのレコーディング・セッションからの未発表トラック2曲(「Cruisin' With Mr.Scratch」、「Dominator」)を収録した7インチが追加される。『Lost Themes』は、ホラーからSFまで、その幅広い刺激的なサウンドスケープで高く評価され、各トラックはビジュアルを必要とせずに、独特の雰囲気を醸し出している。当エクスパンデッド・エディションは、John Carpenterの音楽の旅の10年を祝うだけでなく、オリジナル・セッションのスピリットを捉えた新しい素材で、アルバムの遺産をさらに豊かにする。

Though his filmmaking career slowed in the 2000s and 2010s, John Carpenter's influence as a composer only grew. Along with Tangerine Dream, his immediately recognizable sound -- full of pulsing synths and ever-ratcheting tension -- inspired a new generation of acts like Zombi, Majeure, Umberto, Espectrostatic, and Geoff Barrow's Drokk project, among many others, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect for Carpenter to release new music when Lost Themes arrived. Despite that title, these songs aren't attached to any films; instead, they offer a multiplex worth of possibilities for listeners to soundtrack their lives. As Carpenter gives fans exactly what they want -- those ominous synth arpeggios appear less than a minute into the opening track, "Vortex" -- he also engages them on a slightly different level, allowing them to put their imagery and stories to his music for the first time. Soundtrack geeks will also enjoy connecting Lost Themes to his previous work: the power chords that slash through the album call to mind his later, guitar-oriented scores like Vampires, and the intricate keyboard counterpoint that begins "Mystery" shares more than a little of Halloween's sparkling menace. However, it's not necessary to be a Carpenter expert to enjoy "Domain"'s brassy duel between danger and victory. Throughout Lost Themes, Carpenter -- aided by his son Cody and godson Daniel Davies -- uses a more-is-more approach that sets him apart from his followers, most of whom focus on tastefully taut atmospheres. The fun he has expanding his music is almost palpable, particularly on the eight-minute "Obsidian," which spans moments of action, horror, discovery, and victory in its suite-like sweep (it's also a synth lover's dream, with rippling arpeggios, crystalline pads, and a tone that sounds like flowing water). Similarly, the dogpile of synths that closes "Purgatory" is both a throwback and oddly timeless. 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. 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. ~ Heather Phares

ホラー映画の巨匠として知られ、みずからスコアを手掛けるなど音楽家としての顔も持つジョン・カーペンターが、御年67で本格的にアルバム・デビュー(しかもデヴィッド・リンチと同じレーベルから!)。テーマも制約もない環境での楽曲制作を大いに楽しんだようで、重厚なインダストリアル・サウンドが身震いするほどカッコイイ。ゾラ・ジーザスを筆頭にリミキサー陣も豪華絢爛。もちろんホラー好きも大満足の内容だ。
bounce (C)上野功平