You will be hard-pressed to find a recent debut record with a vision as well-defined as this.

This impressive debut by alternative metal project Mirrorcell does an excellent job of immersing you in a hazy world of love and lust.

From the moment you hear frontman Nate Cell crooning to some creepy, reverb-soaked guitar of ‘Glitter’, you can almost picture the femme fatale dancing through the shadowy streets this album’s protagonist is skulking through.

It’s an album that very much exists in this era of nostalgia for the moodier alternative metal bands of the 2000’s, such as Deftones and Korn, that’s spawned heavy-hitting projects from bands like Bad Omens and Silent Planet.

However, it’s the eerie atmosphere, captured through the production and vibrant lyricism, that stops this project from ever becoming generic.

It also helps that almost every song has a chorus that will immediately burrow its way into your brain and stay there, ‘Pleasure’ and ‘Supernova’ being prime examples.

A common pet peeve I have with some modern metal albums that prioritise a dark, seductive “vibe” is that the guitars feel like an afterthought, being relegated to the background texture until the band feels the need to throw in an obligatory breakdown.

Luckily, ‘Long Nights In Lovescape’ again separates Mirrorcell from their contemporaries by prominently featuring guitars and bass and making sure they carry some significant edge.

I was taken aback by just how inventive and fun the riffs were on the double whammy of ‘Candy and Lovebomb’. This is immediately followed by ‘Ichi’ and ‘U(phoria)’, two songs that show Nate and his bandmates know how to seriously turn up the heavy when the time calls for it, with the breakdown of ‘Ichi’ in particular being exceptionally brutal.

It’s in-your-face moments like this that not only give the album so much distinct personality but also help elevate the moments where the band strips things back and let you really soak up the atmosphere.

‘Hurt Me’ opens with some truly spooky synth-work, and closer ‘Prey’ lets us hear Nate’s voice at its most vulnerable over distorted piano chords.

This is one of the most complete debuts I’ve heard in a while, and I’m sure many of you will find the expertly curated vibe of this album as addictive as I did.