Their recorded output was intentionally completed with poor, cheap equipment, including their first and only studio album Never Been Caught, which was released after the group's initial break-up.

[4][5] The group became a key musical force in San Francisco's emerging garage punk scene alongside the Phantom Surfers and the Untamed Youth, although the band set out to be cruder than their contemporaries.

This homemade choice of attire was influential on the local garage punk scene, with newer groups also dressing in similarly gimmicky clothing.

[10] Keeping with their total disdain for modern technology, the Mummies refused to publish their music on compact disc, and often brandished their vinyl covers with the slogan, "Fuck CDs".

[14] Since the band's 1990s heyday, the popularity of the Mummies has grown steadily with the successive generation of garage and indie rock musical acts, and the group also holds a devoted cult following.

[7] Music critic Mark Deming proclaimed the Mummies the "kings of budget rock", adding that "it's difficult to imagine the rawest edge of the garage revival bands existing without the guiding influence of the gauze-wrapped foursome".