Vandoliers

In the mid-2010s a boisterous Texas alt-country ensemble called the Vandoliers surfaced, fusing Red Dirt country, rootsy rock & roll, Tejano accents, and punk rock swagger. Lead vocalist Joshua Fleming delivers heartfelt narratives of Lone Star existence steeped in outsized feeling and chilled beer, while the unit raises clouds of dust with guitars, drums, the wail of the fiddle, and intermittent trumpet blasts. The group issued a pair of favorably received LPs on the Texas indie State Fair Records—Ameri-Kinda in 2016 and The Native in 2017—enjoyed a brief alliance with the insurgent-country imprint Bloodshot for Forever in 2019, and then independently released the exuberant, defiant The Vandoliers in 2022.

Joshua Fleming, who serves as lead singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter, assembled the Vandoliers in 2015 after his punk outfit the Phuss dissolved and an eye infection confined him at home. Immersed in country music, he recognized an emotional kinship with punk and began composing direct, honest songs that captured that overlap. Drawing players from the Dallas-Fort Worth indie milieu, he formed an initial lineup of Dustin Fleming on guitar and pedal steel, Cory Graves on keys and trumpet, Travis Curry on fiddle, Mark Moncrieff on bass, and Guyton Sanders on drums. Their vigorous concerts impressed rock and country listeners alike, prompting the band to record its debut, Ameri-Kinda, in 2016. After self-releasing the album, the Vandoliers signed with Dallas-based State Fair Records, which reissued the disc later that year. Further roadwork followed, encompassing club dates and shared bills with fellow Texans the Reverend Horton Heat and the Old 97's.

The Native appeared in 2017; strong reviews and commanding live performances secured a deal with Chicago's Bloodshot Records, an influential alt-country label. The band traveled to Memphis to track Forever with producer Adam Hill, whose prior credits include Low Cut Connie and Deer Tick; the album surfaced in 2019 to positive notices and led to an opening slot for Lucero plus co-bills with the Turnpike Troubadours, Flogging Molly, and the Toadies. Fleming next began writing material for a fourth album slated for studio work in March 2020 and a European tour, yet events intervened. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered venues and studios that month, postponing sessions until November 2020.

While members confronted personal matters during the lull—among them new parenthood and the attainment of sobriety—they also faced Bloodshot's October 2021 closure, which left the band without a label. They responded by continuing to write and record; one track, "Every Saturday Night," received satellite-radio airplay. With assistance from producer Eric Delegard—whose work with Denton, Texas cult heroes the Brave Combo earned a Grammy Award—the group finished the self-titled LP and issued it in 2022 on their own Amerikinda Records imprint through Soundly Music distribution. Drummer Trey Alfaro had joined by then, replacing Guyton Sanders.