Mile Twelve, Boston’s modern string band, is back in motion. From the first manic downbeat of their virtuosic new record, Close Enough to Hear, you will discover a band that is ready to explode from a restless pandemic-induced hiatus. You will hear the same warmth and innovation that earned the band IBMA’s 2019 Album of the Year nomination and 2020 New Artist of the Year Award, which has gained them an international reputation as one of the most dynamic bands in contemporary acoustic music. Heard as a whole, Close Enough to Hear displays the vast creative potential of the bluegrass quintet—banjo (BB Bowness), mandolin (Korey Brodsky), fiddle (Ella Jordan), acoustic guitar (Evan Murphy), and upright bass (Nate Sabat)—in the hands of world-class musicians. (Mile Twelve, 2023)

Fans of Mile Twelve will notice the presence of two new members on Close Enough to Hear: fiddler and vocalist Ella Jordan and mandolinist Korey Brodsky. Take note of the new dimension they add to the band and their ability to lock in with founding members Evan Murphy, Catherine Bowness, and Nate Sabat. These are not session players; this album captures the formation of a new coherent unit.

Both of the bands’ previous full-length albums, as well as their guest star-packed EP, were recorded in Nashville but the new challenges of traveling and dodging positive Covid tests kept the band closer to home. They chose Sam Kassirer’s legendary Great North Sounds in the woods of Parsonsfield, Maine, a studio that has played host to a murderer’s row of Americana acts and has become a fixture of the New England recording scene. Leading up to the making of their new album, Mile Twelve—a flourishing act whose output has helped push the envelope of New England’s progressive bluegrass and string-band scene—learned a whole new level of perseverance, patience, and performance.

Fans can watch the music video for “Close Enough to Hear” and pre-order or pre-save Close Enough to Hear ahead of its February 3 release.

This is a band looking forward—simultaneously shoring up their bluegrass foundations (in the transfixing acapella opening of “If Only,” for example) while also pushing their musical boundaries and driving into new territory. You will detect flavors of jazz (“Red Grapes on the Vine”), acoustic pop (“Take Me As I Am”), and trance music (“Light of Angels”). Heard as a whole, Close Enough to Hear displays the vast potential of acoustic string band music in the hands of capable players.

Close Enough to Hear track list:
Romulus
Johnny Oklahoma
Close Enough To Hear
Red Grapes on the Vine
Light of Angels
Hopping Around Telluride
Waiting
Anywhere Town
Take Me As I Am
If Only