He began recording an album between late 2013 and early 2014 at various studios in Los Angeles, California, with producers Mike Viola and James Flannigan.

Described as a pop, soft rock and electronic album, it drew comparisons to Fun, the Killers and Passion Pit.

Preceded by four singles, "Cecilia and the Satellite" in August, "High Dive", "Canyon Moon" and "See Her on the Weekend" in September, Vanguard Records released Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness on October 14, 2014.

He took a step back from the music industry, moved out of Los Angeles[9] to San Clemente,[10] and spent his time focusing on his marriage, mental health and confidence.

[3] Following his time in Topanga Canyon, McMahon began working with producer Mike Viola in his Echo Park garage studio.

[9] McMahon took what he enjoyed while making the EP, namely the concept of going into a studio and working on something in a timely manner and applied it to the album's sessions.

[9] When the trio met for the first time, McMahon cautioned them he might have to leave at a moment's notice as his wife was due to give birth any day.

[20] McMahon, Flannigan and Viola worked in a variety of production areas at studios in Los Angeles to finish the album.

Patrick Warren came up with string arrangements for "High Dive and "Rainy Girl"; McMahon self-produced the latter song at Gat 3 with engineer Glenn A. Tabor III.

[27] The album's title refers to McMahon being out of the major label system and without a band and his subsequent attempts to find his way back.

[29] McMahon wrote some material from a Sliding Doors-esque (1981) perspective and asked himself: "What would have come next if I hadn’t encountered that bizarre chapter of my disrupted 20s?

"[9] McMahon co-wrote half of the album's material with Viola, while the balance was self-written ("Rainy Girl") or co-written with Sam Hollander, Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, Flannigan, Grahn, Andrew Goldstein and Brian Lee.

Though McMahon said the song is not about him directly, it talks about a person leaving Los Angeles as he had after disbanding Jack's Mannequin.

[22] While on the way to a studio, McMahon heard Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and wanted to pick apart its anatomy with Viola.

[48] This version features McMahon, his wife and his daughter spending time together while on tour, before they watch him perform at a show.

[53] The Canyons EP was released on November 20,[54] and featured stripped-down versions of "Maps for the Getaway", "Cecilia and the Satellite", "Halls" and "High Dive", produced by John Alagia.

[56] In February 2016, McMahon performed on KROQ-FM's Red Bull Sound Space, playing "High Dive" and "Cecilia and the Satellite".

[59] AbsolutePunk staff member Craig Manning said that while McMahon "retreads melodies he’s used before on more than one occasion", there was no instance "when the familiarity of the proceedings detracts from the overall enjoyment of the record".

[25] Melodic writer Johan Wippsson wrote that per "usual, you get the piano-based pop with luxurious and very catchy melodies", adding that with the "slightly more electronic sound", he "takes the album to an extraordinary level".

[23] Ruby Niemann of The AU Review found the production to be "glossier and more radio-friendly, which sometimes removes a lot of the intensity and emotional awkwardness that was so enjoyable about McMahon's earlier projects".

[29] AllMusic reviewer James Christopher Monger said McMahon "taps into his more commercial sensibilities", creating "pop confections that are as effortlessly breezy and melodic as they are steeped in carefully constructed melodrama".

[22] PopMatters' Colin McGuire said it was "drenched with so much of 1980s soft rock", helped by "warm, heavy synths and a gaggle of steady electronic kick drums".

[24] The Music writer Charmaine de Souza said McMahon's "piano mastery is in full-force throughout" the record, "perfectly complementing his brand of delicately phrased pop that’s introspective with just the right amount of naivety".

"[61] Sputnikmusic staff member SowingSeason saw it as "bursting at the seams with energetic melodies, enormous hooks, and optimistic lyrical topics."