The first time I heard Temple Canyon, they were playing The Crocodile amidst the multi-band magic of 2019’s Belltown Bash. With over 10 bands performing on both the main stage and the back bar over the course of four hours, there was an abundance of talent. Among all the stellar bands I was able to see that night, Temple Canyon may have left the most indelible impression. Having lost track of the schedule and having never seen them live before, I still recall walking into the main showroom and being overwhelmed by the downright expansive sound of the three-piece. I listened for about 15 seconds before turning to a friend nearby and politely asking “…damn, who the fuck is this?” That’s the type of first impression that garners praise like “best band in Seattle right now” from nadamucho.com.
Fortress is the third release from Temple Canyon, and it certainly feels like their most ambitious yet. The artwork for the album is a recreation of Fleetwood Mac’s iconic Mirage album cover, and the band boldly cites influences ranging from Joni Mitchell to Big Thief to the 1970s CBGB punk scene. Armed with this info and a first listen to the album, my first impression of Fortress was similar to my first impression of Temple Canyon: this is BIG.
Somewhat surprisingly, it’s also the band’s first self-produced record, with most of the recording having been split between a rehearsal space at Crybaby Studios and vocalist/guitarist Mariko Ruhle’s apartment. Fueling this self-sufficiency, Temple Canyon bassist Jason Shao engineered and mixed the album. The result is easily the band’s largest sound to date, featuring a dynamic range and ethereal quality not as explicitly pronounced on either their 2016 self-titled release or their 2017 EP Thank You For Not Caring.
The first track from the album, “Pressure,” is among the strongest openers I’ve heard in a while. Taking only a minute to build a hesitant guitar line and restrained whisper into a fully rocking chorus, the track eventually settles into a groove while Ruhle urgently repeats the song’s title in near spoken word. The range of the vocal performance here is quite impressive, as well as the power in the guitars and bass.
The attention to detail in the mixing of guitars throughout the album really allows the tracks to grow; with most songs featuring layered guitars drenched in reverb and wide-panned, the album is quite fun to listen through, especially with headphones. As the atmospheric nature of the guitars and vocals are stretched to extremes — as on the bridge of “My Goldmine” — the structure is anchored by tight drums from Al Reiter and catchy bass lines that are smartly forward in the mixes. This balance is especially juicy in the second to last song on the album, “Desire,” which stood out to me as possibly the catchiest on the album.
Having picked up on the ethereal nature of Fortress, I was pleased to find this aesthetic addressed in the press kit. Ruhle describes that the album “takes place in two realms: Earth and outer space. When we are on the moon or other planets, we are still dealing with earthly things, much like Ray Bradbury’s ‘All Summer In A Day.’ I was deeply moved by that short story at age 10, and I’m sure it has affected my writing.” This quote is a good glimpse into the composition of the album, as much of what is relayed to the listener beyond the swelling guitars is disguised by metaphor. Describing the single “I Tangled With The Serpent,” Ruhle notes, “I was intentionally very cryptic when writing this. I was struggling with how to process my own experience without divulging a story that is not mine to tell. For me, the serpent is a woman afflicted by her own trauma to the extent that she is paralyzed and blind to her own trespasses. She is the character that you can’t help but empathize with despite having a conflicted moral sensibility.”
While the entire album exudes this emotional empathy, I found myself connecting more to tracks where Ruhle briefly steps out from behind the facade of metaphor to create a direct image, even if very simply. “Roses In My Hair” is among my favorites from the album, where the repeating lyrics “put roses in my hair / like my mother put roses in her hair” set a beautifully simple scene, even if still left up for interpretation. Ultimately, every song on the album conveys a powerful sense of emotion which is fostered throughout by the musicianship and chemistry of Ruhle, Shao, and Reiter.
As a big Fleetwood Mac fan, I have to admit I was immediately intrigued by the artwork’s homage to Mirage. One of my favorite anecdotes concerning popular music’s debt to Fleetwood Mac comes from The New Pornographers leader A.C. Newman. Discretely honoring Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 album Tusk, Newman slyly sings the melody of “I Know I’m Not Wrong” over top of the last fading chorus and outro of the song “To Wild Homes” on The New Pornographers 2000 album Mass Romantic. In an interview published by author Rob Trucks in 2011, Newman later described this artistic nod as “living proof that Tusk haunted our music.”
Between the single art for Fortress and the aesthetic choices made throughout the album, Temple Canyon is far less unreserved in their artistic nods. They are not merely haunted by their influences but grabbing them directly by the horns to make something truly great. Tracks from Fortress like “Desire” and “Pressure” sound like they belong in a playlist with my very favorite tracks from Tusk or Mirage, and that takes a pretty special band to pull off with success.
Fortress
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