Ellur: Five Essential Albums

Women's history is world history, but care is taken in March to elevate the message and mission of Women's History Month. We've asked some of the women we love — including Ellur — to write about their Five Essential Albums for FUV.

With At Home in My Mind, Ellur's 2026 debut album, the Halifax, Yorkshire musician is delivering on the sublime indie-pop promise of her two EPs, 2021's Moments and 2025's God Help Me Now.

Turning 25 was a time of reassessment for Ellur, real name Elle McNamara, who grew up with notable musical lineage — her father Richard and uncle Danny co-founded Embrace and Elle has a long line of musician cousins (her mom is an art teacher). But being the daughter of a musician certainly doesn't assure a straight (or easy) road to success. The younger McNamara paid her dues, working day jobs as a barista and house cleaner while writing songs and honing her singing chops at local clubs, storming through Adele covers.

But with the majestic single "God Help Me Now," McNamara finally found a foothold. With a string of excellent singles from At Home in My Mind, including "Missing Kid," "The Wheel" and "The World is Not an Oyster," and collaborators like Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Jack Leonard (UNKLE), and Jack Cochrane (The Snuts), the smoky-voiced Ellur has released a shimmering foundational album that adroitly seizes on her  lyrical empathy and candor.

Ahead of her spring tour dates, FUV caught up with McNamara and asked what her "Five Essential Albums" might be.

Ellur's "Five Essential Albums"

Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures
I had this on CD in my first car when I was 18. When I first passed my driving test I listened to it every day, religiously; on the loudest setting with the windows down. Whenever I listen to it now I feel a painful sense of nostalgia. I’d never felt as free in all of my life.

Radiohead, In Rainbows
The sound of this album and the production is, for me, unbeatable. The emotional journey I had when listening to this front to back for the first time is something I strive for in my work all the time. To have that affect on someone is a really special thing. A great album for the car too.

Sigur Rós, Takk
This album reminds me of being a kid. I had the full thing on an iPod shuffle when I was about 8 or 9. I remember one summer we were camping and I listened to nothing else. The expanse in production and noise of the band really sweeps you up and takes you somewhere. I saw them live a couple of years ago and the guy next to me was there on his own and he cried the whole way through the gig. He was a complete stranger, but I wanted to give him a hug. I wish I had.

Adrianne Lenker, songs
One of the greatest songwriters alive today. I studied Adrianne’s lyrics for a while and tried hard to find a similar way of crafting stories. It reminds me of summer in the garden of my childhood home, barefoot on the trampoline. I could listen to it without skipping a song. "Anything" is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard.

Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head
This record really helped me to shape and make production choices on At Home in My Mind. Some of the greatest songs of all time lie on this record: "In My Place," "Green Eyes," "Warning Sign." They move me in a way I can’t explain. It’s something I’ll keep trying to understand so I can create a similar feeling myself. God, that would be a great achievement.

- Ellur
March 2026