Shortly after the disbandment of their critically acclaimed indie punk band Chumped in early 2016, lead singer Anika Pyle and drummer Dan Frelly started Katie Ellen as a fuzz pop two-piece.

The duo then recruited friends Anthony Tinnirella (guitar) and Eric Sheppard (bass) to round out the sound and record their debut LP – Cowgirl Blues. Cowgirl Blues is ten songs of twangy, pop forward indie punk with subtle country underpinnings, showcasing Pyle’s knack for punchy, melodic songwriting familiar to fans of Chumped while exploring more dynamic and intimate arrangements that nod to contemporaries like Waxahatchee, Alvvays, All Dogs and Pinegrove. Pyle notes 60s girl groups, Patsy Cline and Jenny Lewis as writing influences.

The name Katie Ellen is an adaptation of Pyle’s great grandmother’s radio stage name – Kaytee Ellen. “Calling the project Katie Ellen felt like taking something back grandmother as a person and deemed her on-air personality disposable and replaceable by any other woman. It also lent me a bit of creative anonymity to try new things and explore my own identity, especially as it pertains to autonomy, femininity and vulnerability.” That sentiment permeates Cowgirl Blues, a record steeped in the discourse between freedom and commitment. Pyle notes, “I wrote the record at the end of a formative creative project and an eleven-year relationship that lasted for much of my young adult life. It represents, to me, the reimagining of identity and the search for personal truth, a process that can be harrowing. If following your truth requires upheaval of the normative and the status quo, stay and you could be happy but you will always be at odds with yourself. Go and you accept a path of rebirth and constant negotiation, not always ‘happy’ but wild, free and true.”