Fortress - Here

 Released: September 18

Despite being rather brief, Here is a rather dense two pieces of music. What stood out on first listen was the space in which the minimalist compositions play around. Both tracks seem to possess an unusual perceived room that feels almost like a large, slightly out of square room that has had the ceiling taken off. It feels both intimate and open at the same time with each of the two tracks playing on this slightly differently. For myself personally, the album feels like an early autumn in its tone and approach. There’s a slightly sedate feeling in the air and the slow changes in each of the two pieces cycle seamlessly. It’s always a feeeling that as one elements ends and fades away, the next piece comes back in right behind it as if it hadn’t ever left in the first place. 

The first of the two, “Here,” feels a bit more grounded than its counterpart. There is this weighted bass tone that occupies the center quite beautifully that never veers into a too heavy territory. Like it provides a centering pressure to the otherwise light and atmospheric soundscape and sense of real presence that makes the lighter moments of the track even more poignant. “Am” follows this up with a similar treatment of the low end, though this time it seems to sightly suppressed by the gently plucked and fragmented guitar melody. A short, three to four note repeating motif that stands out among the formless pads and the soft vocal washes that layers over one another in flowing fashion.