EP Review: Ellur - 'God Help Me Now'
Indie-pop rising star Ellur proves why she’s one to watch with her new EP ‘God Help Me Now’.
There’s only one new track, ‘Mourning Song’, on the four-track release, but it’s a good entry point to the world of Halifax’s Ellur – her name Ella McNamara in a Yorkshire accent.
It begins with the title track, released back in August, co-written with Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Jack Leonard, continuing their long list of big-hitting collabs including The 1975 and Holly Humberstone. It sounds like Holly covering Matty Healy’s band, as she sings: “I think too much / I’m all out of fucks / the world’s on fire / I’m just getting drunk”. It was intended as a big indie anthem, and the result is her version of Sam Fender’s ‘Dead Boys’, singing: “Get up, go out, and pretend to be alright about all the girls I know who never make it home”.
Follow-up autumn releases ‘Your Dog’ and ‘Yellow Light’ also feature. The former was the easiest song for Ellur to write on the EP, an open letter of things build up internally, a little like Soccer Mommy or CMAT, the latter a huge influence on Ellur. ‘Yellow Light’ is more wistful, on her indecisiveness in love and life, and being a knob. It’s another catchy driving indie track - her mum’s favourite! – as she reveals: “I act like a dick and blame it on my Northern child”.
New track ‘Mourning Song’ was the toughest for Ellur to write, dealing with a painful subject matter that means a lot. However, the effort is justified, as the melancholic beauty carries a different weight, a softer side unseen in the EP’s other songs. It starts calmly, something to wallow in, with a majestic sound and swooning vocals: “Turn the pages, through the motions. You’re a sickness. I am for you.” It showcases her vulnerability perfectly. “Oh it’s hopeless, I think I need you,” she sings, before the vocals fade out as she adds: “And then it’s over.”
The whole EP is an exploration of coming of age, coming alive with the sounds of Joel Johnson via his studio in Leeds, and released via cult Yorkshire label Dance To The Radio. It picks up where Ellur’s 2024 finished off, with a string of festival slots, media plaudits, and support slots with Blossoms and Embrace (she is the daughter of the latter’s guitarist Richard McNamara).
And it’s all set for Ellur’s big 2025, including SXSW and more big shows, including Leeds with Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, and The Cribs. Sure, it’s not the mid-00s anymore, but Ellur will ensure the future is in safe hands. The sooner you embrace it, the better.
Words by Samuel Draper
