20. May 2025
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Media Review

ERNST – Mere Illusions

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

ERNST - Mere Illusions

ERNST - Mere Illusions
3.9

Rating

 3.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very characteristic style
  • Good plot and storytelling

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some songs could strike better

ERNST is an indie-rock band which is based in Vienna in Austria. However, due to their lineup, they have already been featured at BBC Introducing in Great Britain as well. On 25th April 2025, they release their debut album Mere Illusions. I had a listen.

 

ERNST – About The Artists

ERNST have been founded in 2021, rather by a coincidence. The band is a quintet, lead my singer and guitarist Nicole Salomon. The other band members are British Dan Courtney (synth, guitar), Ralf Grabuschnig (guitar, bass), Elias Marte (bass, keyboard) and drummer Philipp Demuth. Already in 2021, they released their first song Goodbye.

 

ERNST – Mere Illusions – Track by Track

The ten track album lasts 37 minutes.

1. The Maze

The Maze is opening ERNST’s Mere Illusions album. I generally like that their first release features five previously unreleased songs. The opener is one of them. It is starts rather melodic, but then develops towards indie-rock. The touch of grunge and the present characteristic voice of Nicole Salomon turn the song into an interesting listen.

2. Soft (Whoever You Wanna Be)

The second track of the album has a more flowing, dreaming character. Unfortunately, the style also means that the track lacks surprising and catching moments a bit. However, the present chorus is a definite exception for it.

3. Don’t Buy It

The press kit to Mere Illusions calls the style of ERNST an individual mixture of dreamy and dirty. Don’t Buy It definitely has both of both worlds. The nice flow of the chorus rather reminds of the song before. But especially the first part of the track also a bit of a darker touch. Salomon and her vocals are very present in this track.

4. No, Virginia, no!

Another quote from the press kit is that ERNST’s idol is rather Virginia Woolf rather than Oscar Wilde. The slower No, Virginia, no! is a clear reference to that. The previously released track is slower and also more gentle than the songs before. Even though the instruments are more present in here, this melancholic listen might also be a good choice for alt-pop lovers.

5. Trigger

After two single releases, Trigger is one of the new songs of Mere Illusions. With 5:24 minutes, it is also the longest song of the album. However, there are other reasons why this song is special. First of all, there is the very reduced first part of the song, which later breaks out in a rock firework. It is also the first song of this album with German lyrics. The band is in fact releasing songs in both, German and English. The extended duration and the plot of the track turn Trigger into a very interesting listen.

6. Neue Saiten

According to the title of the sixth track, it is about “New Strings”. This song has the straight character of a punk song, even though the song uses a very present synth elements and thus rather sounds like a New Wave track.

7. Umsonst

Umsonst can either mean “complimentary” or “all in vain”. In the context of the song, though, it is about the second meaning. There is some anger and frustration in this one. However, the vocal and instrumental work turn it into one of the most special listens of the album.

8. Letting Go

The slow and fine sound of Letting Go turns this song into the ballad-alike listen of the album. I like the way the Austrians tell the breakup story. However, the vocals feel a bit too present here and there. Nice work on the guitar side, though – especially the scattered howling chords add quite some atmosphere.

9. Black Black Crows

The penultimate four minutes of Mere Illusions belong to Black Black Crows. After a more quiet intro, the Vienna band are rocking and spread a lot of energy. Together with the backing synth elements, this is working really well.

10. The Museum (Everything In My House)

The chucker-out The Museum (Everything In my House) is kicking off with the acoustic guitar and Salomon’s voice only. The song is creating a wider sound later, especially by adding keyboard and rhthmic elements, but also the electric guitar. Thus, the closing track features quite a lot of styles you learned to enjoy in the tracks before.

 

ERNST – Mere Illusions – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

ERNST – Mere Illusions – My View

Mere Illusions is a nice debut album. It definitely defines and illustrate the very own sound of the band from Vienna. ERNST have definitely not reached their top level, but they left a mark during the listen of these ten tracks.

Favorite Song: The Museum (Everything In My House)

 

Vienna on Flyctory.com

Here are all my postings related to Vienna in Austria:

 

Museums & Exhibitions in the United Kingdom

Here are all my postings about Museums & Exhibitions in the United Kingdom:

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