Grain Thief

There’s something about a record cut by a bunch of folks that have put as many miles on their fretboards of their instruments as they’ve put on the van’s odometer. Gasoline is Boston, MA quintet Grain Thief's first release since 2018's Stardust Lodge. While that release explored the boundaries of Americana, the new record showcases the group's core as a roots string band. It's a musical snapshot of the band's true live sound. There’s no room to fake it when it’s just the band, acoustic instruments, and a microphone. Patrick Mulroy (guitar, vocals), Zach Meyer (mandolin, vocals), Michael Harmon (bass, vocals), Tom Farrell (resonator guitar), and Alex Barstow (fiddle) have grown as individual musicians, and Grain Thief has grown as a cohesive musical unit. Gasoline is a more refined and polished work than the band’s prior releases. “Our goal was to record everything as we would play it live, with as few overdubs as possible” Harmon tells. Grain Thief recorded the bulk of Gasoline with the whole ensemble recording in one room. Indeed, this is a band that walks the talk, and the easy grace with which the record unfolds belies the elegant intricacy that lies therein. Joining them for the sessions was producer Dan Bui from Twisted Pine. Both timely yet inherently timeless, Gasoline will no doubt find its rightful place in the canon of American music.