Fortresses’ latest work, "Are", is a tender exploration of identity and place, capturing the liminal space between two homes - England and Oregon - with elegant restraint. Sam Ashton, the man behind the project, has always blended field recordings with ambient soundscapes, but here, his use of natural elements feels more strategic, a brief whisper of birdsong or water punctuating guitar-driven melodies. The two companion tracks, “Are” and “Our,” mirror each other in their subtle layers of droning synths and cello sweeps, inviting us to contemplate identity as a patchwork of locations, memories, and moods.

Where previous releases may have leaned heavily on high and low-fidelity contrasts, "Are" finds balance in its dualities. The tracks themselves seem to embody this tension: are they reflections of different places, different selves, or simply two expressions of the same restless search for belonging? The title and cover imagery - Ashton’s hand in an Oregon woodland stream - reaffirm his connection to nature, both symbolically and physically, a grounding force in this floating meditation on duality.

Musically, the record resonates with the same introspective beauty as artists like William Basinski and Tim Hecker, though with a warmth that feels uniquely Fortresses. There’s a softness here, an active effort to blend the fragmented into something whole. His use of guitar loops and modular synths creates an enveloping, immersive atmosphere that asks not just to be listened to but lived within. Each note feels like a piece of home, woven together from fragments into a tapestry that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.

In "Are", Fortresses turns passive observation into active creation, composing not just music but a reflection of identity in motion, at once settled and adrift, a beautiful, fragile thing.