Sadly, the Future Is No Longer What It Was is the debut studio album by English musician Leyland Kirby, released on 1 September 2009.
His releases under the Caretaker alias explored the horror film The Shining but would later portray memory loss with Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia (2005).
"[1] As the debut album of Kirby under his own name, it shows a more emotional and personal sound than his other aliases while maintaining the trend of his hauntological work as the Caretaker.
[2][3][4] Sadly, the Future Is No Longer What It Was is a romantic melancholic album, exploring ambient,[5] electronic, rock,[6] hauntology,[7] and drone.
[7] The record's track titles manifest its melancholic feel, with names such as "When We Parted, My Heart Wanted to Die", "Tonight is the Last Night of the World", and "I've Hummed This Tune to All the Girls I've Known".
[7][6] According to the press release, the album's title "alludes to a once-promised yet undelivered future cast aside in favor of harnessing intellect and technology for the furtherance of social networking and internet memes.
[14] In another interview, he continued stating the difference between V/Vm and the albums under his own name: "Sometimes it's good to flip things around 180 degrees, and say 'Instead of smashing something apart, I'm going to make something much more beautiful now'.
[6] The Line of Best Fit's Matt Poacher argued that, with the record, "one wonders what it is that Kirby truly mourns and whether the whole enterprise is founded on some abstract notion of grief.
"[10] Chris Mann of Resident Advisor said Sadly "is rich in ideas and textures," adding it is "one of the most haunting albums you'll hear all year.
[13] Writer for NPR, Meaghan Garvey said the title Sadly, the Future Is No Longer What It Was encapsulates feelings relating to the death of author Mark Fisher.
[22] The Quietus' Frances Morgan concluded that "a large-scale piece is in itself a statement of intent in our supposedly accelerated listening culture, upon which Kirby takes a dystopian, regretful stance.
[25] French electronic musician Jean-Jacques Perrey, who was labeled as "the godfather of techno", mentioned the album title while explaining how "the world moves so much faster.