Enos - Mile Marker 295

Enos

Mile Marker 295
self-released; 2016

4.0 out of 5

By Mimi Strauss
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This music is easy to listen to. On Enos’ debut album Mile Marker 295 the indie hatchling gives us an emotional and cohesive set of songs. The one-man act has created an album that my ears are addicted to and I won’t stop playing over and over again.

​Enos’ style and sound correlates with a lot of the indie-folk-rock-singer-songwriter music currently circulating the air waves. This album would fit comfortably on the top 40 charts. Enos references Ben Howard, Kings of Leon and The National as influences. I personally heard Death Cab for Cutie and Ed Sheeran. 

This is the first complete album for Enos who has been writing and recording music for the past 12 years. Although currently based in Austin Texas, Enos studied music performance at college in Michigan. Enos recorded, mixed and mastered the album in a self-made sound proof room in his garage, but I never would have guessed. From the twinkling sound created from finger picking, to the layered vocals, every second of this album sounds tight, refined and almost obsessively deliberate.

Enos is emotionally vulnerable on Mile Marker 295. The combination of diary-like poetic lyrics and Enos’ earnest, sorrowful vocals pulled at something that gave me goosebumps when I really didn’t want them to. The tracks “Wait for me pt.1” and “Wait for me pt. 2” bookend the album and set the tone. Similar to Passion Pit and the Smiths, Enos pairs upbeat instrumentals with lyrics that tell stories of heartbreak. However, an element of hope and perseverance also finds its way in.

It could be easy to classify Enos as another skinny white guy with a guitar and a garage. I think this would be a mistake. Mile Marker 295 shows an immense amount of talent and someone with a story to tell. At some points, the album drifts into the cliche, but it comes around pretty quickly. This album has heart and drive, but also serious commercial potential and marketability.

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