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May 10, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Eryn Brooke

Austin-based singer/songwriter Ali Holder makes it her mission to explore the uncomfortable. With her latest record, Uncomfortable Truths, Holder dives into the unique angles that shape her life, from mental health and chronic pain to privilege and relational boundaries. Taking cues from folk, country, and indie influences, Holder crafts raw narratives and moving confessionals.

Running throughout the album are four vignettes, each reflecting on a different aspect of privilege. Since the record’s release Holder has been sharing a video for each of these vignettes, starting with “Speak One” and working towards “Speak Four.” Today Holder has once again returned, this time sharing the video for “Speak Two,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Speak Two” continues in the same lyrical structure of “Speak One,” now adapted as a reflection on economic privilege. Whereas the previous entry in the series examined systemic violence amidst fervent indie rock stylings and burning electric guitar licks, “Speak Two” finds Holder in an empathetic singer/songwriter mold, complete with keening acoustic tones and a subdued instrumental palette. She confronts her own insulation from the struggles of poverty, committing to be a voice of compassion and support to others. It’s heady material, but rather than coming off preachy, Holder finds a place of introspection and honesty as the song reaches its stirring climax.

Holder explains, “‘Speak Two’ is about the privilege of being born into a middle-class family. Having the foundation and support to go to college, take risks. It’s about how anyone could end up unhoused at some point in their lives. There’s so much judgment about the unhoused. The truth is that some of these people have had hard luck their whole lives with no foundation. They might have an untreated mental illness. It goes back to systemic racism and poverty. The system we live in has not set people up to succeed. They don’t have healthcare. I could go on and on about the injustice of poverty. Housing, food, education, mental and physical health care should be a right. It’s the responsibility of the privileged to share their resources and time to make other’s lives more livable.” Check out the song and video below and listen to Uncomfortable Truths, out now.