Indie Sounds NY & Austin

New Release Rap: Greg Holden - "I Don't Believe You"

We last caught up with Greg Holden at the beginning of 2010 - click here for the 101 on him - as he was playing his first residency at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC.  Tonight, he's back there again - in the big room - to celebrate his sophomore album, called I Don't Believe You - also released today.

Indie Sounds wanted to find out all about it and what he's been up to these past months ... so your orders are: (1) Read below until the end; (2) Buy his album at iTunes; and (3) Be at Rockwood at 7.30pm tonight.  Or earlier as it will likely sell out.  Chelsea Lee opens.



Indie Sounds: You are releasing your second album today.  Why is it called I Don't Believe You?  Are you not a trusting soul?

Greg Holden: I seem to remember a point last year at which I realised I was trapped. Trapped not just in a genre, or stereotype, but in a business model too, and I wanted to escape, but I had no idea where. The term "singer-songwriter" has changed, and it appears we're all being tarred with the same cliché-ridden brush. It seems that all you have to do to earn the once hard-earned title is buy a cheap guitar, learn three chords and open a Twitter account. Bob's your uncle, you're a singer-songwriter. You don't actually have to be good anymore, or write good lyrics. So long as you have a half-decent voice and a nice haircut, you're all set.  I decided to trap these feelings of frustration into some sort of lyrical form, and then came the song I Don't Believe You. From there it just seemed obvious that that would also be title for the album.

New Release Rap: Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds

For my money, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds is one of the best live acts in New York City today.  Up there with the greats of yester-year, like Valeze and Rich Girls. Tonight, they release their self-titled debut album at Sullivan Hall and it's going to be a blast!  Indie Sounds caught up with band founder and front-gal Arleigh Kincheloe as she warmed up her vocal chords ...


Photo by Allison Murphy

Indie Sounds: How did Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds get its start? And how did the name come about?

Arleigh Kincheloe: The band started in my head as a teenager. I started writing songs around 18 - some of which are on this album - and always had a big band in mind. Jackson and I played together with many random musicians until Bram came back to New York in '07 and we decided to create the "superband" as we liked to say. "Sister Sparrow" was born in a hotel room in Sedona, Arizona on an infamous road trip. "Dirty Birds" came directly from Port Authority's pigeon infestation and Jackson's sincere and drunken disapproval of it.

New Release Rap: Shine On by Dexter Freebish

I was just moving to Austin at the beginning of 2009, when a friend on mine - a freelance music journalist called Lauren Jonik - emailed me to say I should go see a band - Dexter Freebish - that was making a comeback with a 'Best Of' album.  Apparently, "The Bish" was the first band she interviewed when she started out, and she said I should definitely check them out.  Which I duly did, and loved the show.

That comeback was just for a few shows, as the band decided it was time to return to the studio to record a new album.  The result - Shine On - is released today.  Indie Sounds got the full story from band co-founder Chris Lowe.



Indie Sounds: Today, you released Shine On.  What can long-time Dexter Freebish fans expect?

Chris Lowe: We are really excited to be releasing our first full length album of new material in more than six years. Fans can expect a really diverse album. On the album we used a lot more loops, dance beats, and keyboards. It still has the Dexter Freebish sounds of past, though. just a little more modern and diverse.

Download Shine On at iTunes.

New Release Rap: Ian Axel - This Is The New Year

2010 is but a few days old, and so it's appropriate that today Ian Axel is releasing his debut album, entitled This Is The New Year. It's been in the works for more than a year, and anyone who chatted to Ian knows how his excitement for the project has been increasing palpably day by day.  Before his head goes 'pop' just like the bubbly that is surely being drunk right now, Indie Sounds caught up with him for some back story ...



Indie Sounds: What can fans expect from This Is The New Year?

Ian Axel: They can expect something positive. Something that is thorough, genuine, and direct. This is the autobiography of my first 24 years. I think I've learned some valuable things, and writing this album was me confronting these situations in my life. I'm not hiding anything. I'm actually so honest in some of these songs, I feel like I'm about to streak through Times Square. Seriously ... I feel completely insane and sane at the same time. Everyone's gonna know my secrets! Ahhhh!

Download This Is The New Year at iTunes.

New Release Rap: Jon Dee Graham - It's Not As Bad As It Looks

The first act I saw on my first visit to The Continental Club here in Austin last fall was Jon Dee Graham. As I'd soon find out, he was - still is - a regular on Wednesday nights there along with James McMurtry, though the locals told me he'd nearly gone permanently MIA as a result of a big car crash a couple of months earlier. It was a rocking bad-ass show, and I think it was that night I decided it was time to pack my bags and move down from NYC.



November 17th will see the release of the seventh studio album from the (thankfully living) legend, voted Austin Musician of the Year in 2006 and inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame three times, in 2000 as a solo artist, in 2008 as a member of the Skunks, and in 2009 as a member of the True Believers.  It's hard to imagine that at least a couple more of those aren't on their way.  Indie Sounds talked to Jon Dee about the new album, constants and comparisons, and how much it will cost to have him mow your lawn.

New Release Rap: Susan Enan - Plainsong

It's been a while coming, but Susan Enan's Plainsong is one of the best CDs I've heard in a very long time.  Indie Sounds got some background ...

New Release Rap: Atoosa Grey - When The Cardinals Come

When The Cardinals Come is the fourth album from Atoosa Grey.  Harris Radio has been spinning her music for some time, so now it's time for Indie Sounds to find out more ...

New Release Rap: Willie Breeding - Cheap Vodka Rain

Cheap Vodka Rain is Willie Breeding's debut full-length album and with a title like that, Indie Sounds just had to know more ...

New Release Rap: Jen Clapp - Lonesome Sunbeam

Jen Clapp has been making music since the early 90s, but this is her first CD.  Indie Sounds talked to her ...

New Release Rap: Low Water - Twisting the Neck of the Swan

The latest from Brooklyn's Low Water is the third to be spun on Harris Radio. Three great albums in a row. Indie Sounds talked to frontman Johnny Leitera.