​Vandoliers (from the album Life Behind Bars

​Vandoliers (from the album Life Behind Bars

​Vandoliers (from the album Life Behind Bars available on Dial Back Sound/Well Kept Secret) (by Bryant Liggett)
The neighborhood of sound occupied by the Vandoliers exists around the intersection of Alt Country and Roots pop. Dose the sound in Tex-Mex horns for good measure and you’ve got a place where the soundtrack is always great, especially since that score is their latest in Life Behind Bars.
A blasting trumpet and pushy guitar work in unison on album opener, “Dead Canary,” front-person Jenni Rose’s rough vocal scratch giving the album some edge. Fiddle and banjo support the sad narrative for the mid-tempo ballad “Your Picture” and the closer in “Dead in a Ditch” is as dramatic as its title. This band, however, celebrates their proud rowdiness. Vandoliers equally champion rebellion, especially in “Bible Belt”, a groover with 1960’s inspired Farfisa organ swells where Rose admits to being ‘born in the buckle of the bible belt before wishing ‘I was from somewhere else’.
Country musicians of the late 1970’s were dancing with disco, an obvious influencer in the swinging “You Can’t Party With the Lights On”. Vandoliers state-mates and colleagues in The Old 97’s inspired the younger band on “Jim’s Barn” as you hear it in the narrative and the locomotive rhythm. The track raises a glorious racket.
On that aforementioned rebellion, front-person Jenni Rose has recently revealed her true identity, pushing back at Texas lawmakers by transitioning into a transgender woman. Some old sounds via Country music are good while some old schools of thought are not. Life Behind Bars is a kick-ass release for the band who celebrate being who you want to be, as well as celebrating being who you are. (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of Vandoliers from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Vandoliers website