Last by Loma Prieta

Sometimes, the world throws something at you that leaves you wondering whether any of this is a situation that a human was made to be in. This distinct sense of alienated non-belonging courses through the new LP Last from the hardcore band Loma Prieta as the band struggles over questions of purpose, permanence, and the will to make a change. Loma Prieta’s lyrics depict a speaker who is so thoroughly convinced that the outside world was designed specifically to harm them that their only solace comes in the permanence of death. Sonically, this record pulls heavily from skramz, utilizing a fast sound that still leaves plenty of room for bone-shattering riffs, which mutually reinforces the deeply existential angst found in the lyrics.

Portraying a stoic acceptance of the cruelty of the world in such a rebellious and frantic way reveals the extent to which we sometimes struggle to reconcile the unavoidable impacts of evil in our lives. In a way, Lost responds to the old adage “your purpose lies at the intersection of what you have to contribute and what the world needs.” Loma Prieta identifies the needs of the world as these nebulous, confusing beasts with roots so deep as to render their sources impossible to pin down and correct. Thus, we are left to contribute to a world in which no individual contribution will meaningfully influence change, and any move to address the suffering we see all around us amounts to some degree of fruitless complaining.

-Michael