Lástima’s debut album, a pain bloomed from my lungs, is one of the year’s best screamo albums. There’s no point in being coy about it. The Philadelphia five-piece group arrives fully formed on tape, an interesting turn of events since they began as the studio-only endeavor of Richie Devon in 2019. They’ve pivoted since then, honing their craft through live performances and adding consistent members to their roster, including arguably their most striking aspect, a violinist in Thuy Nguyen. a pain bloomed from my lungs then comes as a blackened screamo record whose growing pains are lost to annals of word-of-mouth recounts of small concerts. We’re streaming it in full ahead of its release this Friday.
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Interestingly, Lástima come from a later school of screamo, a post-Envy and Respire scene where winding tracks and emo expression are as critical as powerviolence tendencies. This is to say, contrasting quiet-loud dynamics, spoken word sections, and rabble rousing for basement shows are abundant on a pain bloomed from my lungs. Take the second track, “the shallow lose less than we,” an unwieldy animal that’s also the purest track on the record–undistilled and overbearing screamo, stretched to six minutes. It’s a ground zero for Lástima, as the rest of the record builds off of what it presents.
With that foundation laid, Lástima further distinguish themselves via a three-pronged approach. The first arm is the violin, which propels the record more than anything else, acting like a conductor’s baton. Then, on a more subtle level, lay blackgaze influences. It’s not rare for blackgaze and screamo to cross pollinate in 2025, but Lástima use the former to prop up the latter. The blast beats on “sin sol,” for instance, adopt a deadlier attitude when played alongside tremolo riffs. Atop them is a sentimentality that’s alien to black metal.
The band’s Latin roots round out their musical identity, pronouncing themselves lyrically and musically. Look to “al cerro ancon” as an example with its Spanish poetry and Latin overtones. It connects with Lástima’s struggles with their immigrant identity and how the rights of immigrants are more threatened than ever. It goes without saying, especially considering the style of music Lástima play, that pain bloomed from my lungs is not celebratory but morose, especially when discussing themes like diaspora. Given the current climate, it has a strong reason to be so.
The band says:
A pain bloomed from my lungs is a record that, while extremely personal to me, explores themes I believe many people can relate to. Topics like the struggle and celebration of being from a multicultural/bi-racial family, mental health, existentialism all appear on this record against a backdrop of blistering drums, cacophonous guitars, melancholic violins, and pained vocals.
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A pain bloomed from my lungs releases May 16 via Liminal Dread Productions.