Color: Stonewashed . UPC: 732388219131 "Most personal album yet" is a well-worn cliche within the cliche-addled world of music promotion. But Life Behind Bars, the fifth studio album from beloved Texas country-punk ensemble Vandoliers, brings new meaning to that phrase. This album marks a series of firsts for the band, it's their first release with upstart Break Maiden Records and distributed by storied indie Thirty Tigers, their first with Grammy-winning producer Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem, Flogging Molly, Lucero), and their first recorded at the sprawling Sonic Ranch studios in West Texas. Most importantly, though, this collection of songs offers a window into frontwoman Jenni Rose's journey through addiction and gender dysphoria -- a journey that has culminated in her decision to come out as a trans woman while working in the macho worlds of Texas country and punk rock, at a moment when the rights of trans people are more intensely threatened by the day. For the uninitiated, even the most melancholy Vandoliers song has a degree of exuberance and verve, full of an irrepressible energy that has led the band to tour with everyone from Flogging Molly to the Turnpike Troubadours to fellow Dallas-Fort Worth natives the Toadies and the Old 97s. Their unique ability to bring together the worlds of the square-toed boot-clad hicks with the steel-toed boot-wearing punks has helped the band find a devoted following across the world, fans who pack out shows that are always life-affirming and usually end with some Vandoliers hopping around on stage shirtless. While the 10 tracks on Life Behin...