mumdeathcake - ITS NOT A RACE // EP Review

3rd EP by Melbourne/Naarm Indie/Garage legends.

Mumdeathcake is back for their 3rd EP is quick succession! This one man project heralded by the immensely talented Darcy Hemmingway has been a spot of fascination for our little Couchdog Community, having interviewed Darcy last year off the back the previous two EP's.

That write up of our chat is still relevant to this new release as the curated layers of mood and clever instrumentation within Darcy's writing and overall presentation continues to shine as this initial trilogy of releases conclude.

It's Not A Race, is a brief five track listen that is the embodiment of the phrase All Killer, No Filler (shout out Sum 41). Immediately engulfing listeners with the EP's opener billy no mates. A laid back number, that brings immediate thoughts to the 90's era of Indie Rock (think Pavement, Sonic Youth etc.) This styling of music is still present within the current rock landscape with artists such as Alex G still finding great success with this formula. Mumdeathcake is proving to be on a strong upward trajectory with this sound as Darcy is clearly managing to get a great understanding of how to write in this moody and crunchy sub genre.

Dossier is a perfectly placed second track as it continues right where billy, no mates left off with the cozy production giving the song a sonic sense of consistency. The guitar parts on this are brought more into focus with the predominant motif acting itself as a chorus of sorts. Its distorted flare really punches in the mix and creates a great dissonance when compared to the more relaxed indie styled guitar and subdued rhythm section underneath.

Lilacs and Summer make an interesting duo of songs as they both feel like a version of an Indie - Lofi ballad with varying approaches. Lilacs is the most stripped back track on the EP and really shows a greater focus on vocal harmonies. These Harmonies add the depth to a track that is missing from the rest of the usual rock band instruments but also give the song a far more haunting flavour. The acoustic guitar in particular id like to shout out, as the take feels very raw and adds to the emotion of Lilacs.

On the other hand Summer brings back the electric guitar, drums and bass to the fold. The bends of the guitar notes in the songs intro reminds me of being 15 and blasting the Album Shed by Title Fight. In fact the whole song blissfuly brings me back to skating around listening to Shed. The subdued vocals again prove to work in great contrast as the guitar and drums really pick up in the back half of the song, leading to a crescendo that really brings forth the earnest agony of the lyrical content.

The title track caps off the 5 track run of the EP. It is a noticeably darker approach to the song writing in terms of chord structure. The main guitar line with running bass puts the listener into a sort of flow state before yet again a thrusting end to the title song and EP with an explosion of the distorted cymbals of the kit and the droning lead guitar.

Overall this EP is proof of mumdeathcakes devotion to crafting this style of Indie Rock music and we are so excited to see the debut of live shows in 2026.

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