ERNST – Don’t Buy It (2024)
ERNST’s debut album single, “Don’t Buy It”, marks the arrival of a band unapologetically embracing non-conformity with a song challenging the pressure to strive for success and happiness at any cost.
It was a chance encounter in a Viennese staircase that led to ERNST’s unexpected journey: their tour bus “Joe” took them back to Brighton to play the Alternative Escape on the same day as “Don’t Buy It” will be released. Brighton represents a homecoming for certain members of ERNST, bringing them back to the south coast they once called home. ERNST’s sound is strongly influenced by the song’s message, combining a dreamy melody with a gritty punk undertone.
“Since I can remember, I bought into the notion that success and happiness were linked to hard work, even at the cost of my own physical and mental well-being” reflects Nicole Salomon, lead singer of ERNST. “The pressure to always be productive and to consume more and more has become suffocating. We don’t buy it any more”.
‘Don’t buy it!’ urges listeners not only to resist buying things in the literal sense, but also to challenge the things we are told to do by society. “‘We are misfits’ is our rallying cry as both rebels and allies to those who embrace who they are, even when that is different. We want to celebrate that with a beat that people can dance to.”