Dumb Crush is a Toronto-based trio formed by Owen Hooper (Mouth Breather), Elliott Isaac (Cam Kahin/CJ Wiley) and Liam Colbert (Rise Carmine). What’s Gotten Into People? is their debut EP, recorded entirely live without a metronome in just two days at Dream House Studios in Toronto. The EP is about escapist partying, internet blackholes and consumerist-fueled-existentialism. Covering a variety of genres and never letting down on the energy, What’s Gotten Into People? is a concise project that fully captures what Dumb Crush is about and previews what to expect at a live show. With six tracks that pivot from upbeat indie atmospheres to explosive punk anthems, the EP lays bare the band’s flair for unfiltered and spunky spontaneity.
The EP opens with “Witches In The Dark,” an indie-rock anthem built on an earworm guitar riff and punchy drums. Its catchy melody hooks immediately, while subtle dark-wave accents add a shadowy undercurrent. The title of the song was inspired by a fateful day Owen experienced in gym class, when a game of the same name led him to undertake an accidental nose injury. It’s not too surprising that a game requiring kids to run around in the dark would result in any sort of injury, but that small sacrifice gave Owen a lasting memory that eventually amounted to this banger of a track.
“Moon in Pisces” begins with stripped-back instrumentation: a lone guitar line and intimate vocals that, amid societal unraveling, dare to voice the questions many of us only whisper. As the song unfolds, layers of percussion and reverb-drenched guitar cascade over its core melody, building toward a stirring climax. This climax bleeds into the next track “Interlude,” which, although brief, offers a dark and fuzzy passage that rolls directly into “Annihilation” – a post-punk salvo driven by spiky plucking guitars and insistent bass. The track’s angular rhythms evoke late-’70s downtown grit, and every jagged chord feels like a sudden jolt of adrenaline. The song is vaguely political, with more focus on the individual reflexive response to witnessing world events and the circus of politics. The band share that this song is “less about impending doom than it is about what comes after the demise that we’re currently all watching go down.”
“Ratboy Fuck” unleashes an all-out punk fury that feels specifically designed for moshing. Relentless drum patterns and ferocious power chords leave no respite over its one-minute runtime. The dichotomic appearance of barbershop-esque gang vocals cements its status as a live-set highlight. The EP closes with “Get Away,” a breezy and cool alternative closer that eases any remaining tension. It’s a track any fan of 90s alternative would be drawn to, as bright guitar chords shimmer over laid-back beats and mildly absurd lyrics (“Scared of rejection you’ve perfected reaching out with a bad joke / ‘I’m Kid Rock but woke’”). The quasi-rap coupled with relaxed vocal delivery confirms this as the album’s sunlit departure.
What’s Gotten Into People? is a statement from Dumb Crush about the current state of the world, from the vista-point of Toronto. While blending humor with genuine punk spirit, in just sixteen minutes, they harness nostalgia, social critique, and unfiltered energy into a package that leaves you both exhilarated and introspective. It’s clear this debut EP is only the opening act of a band primed to turn every live show into an unforgettable ride and future releases that will continue to spotlight the trio’s personalities. Whether it be mishaps of an almost-released single cover that perhaps too closely resembled an abstract rendering of male genitalia, or witnessing someone at a Brantford DIY house show eat a cricket, the band have a lot to say and are having a good time doing it.
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