I say a lot of words about music. I have this blog, I write reviews for Tuned Up and the occasional other publication, I have a music podcast…at any given moment I might have two or three group chats prattling on about new releases, hidden gems, or reminders that certain records are as good as I remember.

But sometimes, all of that does a poorer job of communicating the pure essence of my reaction to a piece of music than a simple two-word reaction. In this case, “holy shit,” which escaped my dropping jaw about thirty seconds into album opener “Positive Greed.” And as the record continued on, I didn’t find much reason to refine my reaction.

Calm Collapse captured my attention simply by the presence of guitarist/vocalist Doug Lorig, who I know best from his work as the bandleader of 90s/00s math rock stalwarts Roadside Monument, whose brilliant output landed somewhere between Slint, Drive Like Jehu, and June of 44. But don’t expect Calm Collapse to sound anything at all like Roadside Monument—like I did. Because besides Lorig’s strained voice, there’s not much comparison.

Instead, Mirrored Nature finds the trio tuning their guitars low, turning up the distortion, and riffing on some of the heaviest lines of any of their careers. There are some moments that get earnestly close to sludge metal. Other moments fly up the fretboard with the glammy proficiency of NWOBHM bands.

But the musical center is much closer to bands like Hum, Failure, and Shiner than anything else. The band flirts heavily with metal—sometimes they practically make out with it. But even at their heaviest moments, Calm Collapse is moored by a melodic sensibility that keeps one foot firmly in the alt-rock camp. When they aren’t chugging through massive riffs, they indulge in lengthy ambient explorations. “Subtle Beast” is a particularly good example, but the eight-and-a-half minute “Comeuppance” is almost a CV of what they do best on this record.

At the end of the day, this lands smack dab in the middle of my sensibilities. It was an instant buy, and a strong (if late) contender to my Best of the Year list.