4 out of 5

Label: Konkurrent

Produced by: Dolf (recorded by, mixed by)

Energetic Fishtank takes plucked from a few NMN releases.

Top-down, this looks like a sister release to followup EP Would We Be Alive, as it shares three tracks in common. But the ‘Big Dick’ version is more in line with the Wrong original, which makes this one cover – the opening track, interestingly renamed just Would Be Alive, which does differentiate it somewhat from the EP version – and four songs from the aforementioned Wrong, The Worldhood Of The World (‘Joy’) and Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (‘The River’)

Your mileage is certainly going to vary based on your tastes of these covers, but: then production / recording here is great, giving the Wrights so much weight in their vocals, and the rhythm section is beefed up without tipping into more of the alt-rock / grunge vibes of the Alive EP – it sounds like prime NMN. Encouraging that are the selections, which all feel tweaked just a few degrees more from their already-tweaked originals, which causes the less-than-two-minute burst of Joy to feel like the most unsteady entry here – it’s almost too rampant for the group to contain it in this state. Everything else, though, is doubled down on drums and gang vocals, including Would Be Alive, which I think earns its unique title by playing up its starts and stops a bit more towards the end, while leaning into the monotone robot vibes of the original as it gets going. Big Dick is also fun, porting someone of the percussion of the alternate from the EP but matching it to the pace and overall spirit of the Wrong version.

A fantastic set that shows how fresh NMN’s work remains, and how they’re able to port it into different eras of their sound and not miss a step.