14. June 2026
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Media Review

Yes – Aurora

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Yes - Aurora

Yes - Aurora
4.9

Rating

 4.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great songs with interesting plots
  • Very skillful instrument play
  • The fascinating sound of Yes, even in 2026

It’s almost sixty years since Yes has been formed in London. The progressive rock band is still active and releases music. On 12th June 2026, they share Aurora. It is their 24th studio album overall.

Yes – About The Artist

Yes is a legendary progressive rock band, which has been founded in 1968. The band had two pauses of collaboration, from 1981 to 1983, and from 2004 to 2009. There is no still remaining founding member. However guitarist Steve Howe is active since 1980 and keyboarder Geoff Downes since 1980. The other band members nowadays are Billy Sherwood (bass, keys, guitars), Jon Davison (lead singer, acoustic guitar, percussion) and Jay Schellen (drums, percussion). Yes is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Yes – Aurora – Track by Track

The ten song album lasts 60 minutes.

1. Aurora

The title track opens the album. The beginning is dominated by a symphonic orchestra, before the progressive rock elements merge into the classical elements. It takes over two minutes in this 7:30 minute listen to reach the first chorus. The sound is complex, iconic, impressing. Long songs are boring? Not at all, if Yes is doing them. A nice leverage of vocal and instrumental elements lead to a fascinating beginning of Aurora.

2. Turnaround Situation

The keyboard welcomes the listener of Turnaround Situation – and it stays the core instrument of the track. Again, Yes manages to create a dreaming sound with a lovely flow, which here and there gets back to a rocking, more forceful sound. The atmosphere of the song is striking, the dramatic plot and the theatrical composition lead to fascinating six minutes.

3. Love Lies Dreaming

The following 6:25 minutes of Love Lies Dreaming take a slightly slower pace. After two previously tracks, all other songs on Aurora are new experiences for Yes fans. Again, the band strikes with changing, surprising instrumental twists, which never feel confusing. This coherent plot is a key success factor for the listen. Another one is definitely Steve Howe, who underlines his expertise on the guitar.

4. Countermovement

The first three songs together took almost twenty minutes – now it is becoming even more epic. Aurora presents Countermovement, which almost hits the 14 minute mark. Boring? Not at all – the band has a lot in stock and presents changes in style and speed. None of these breaks feel artificial, you stay in focus and won’t even dare to think about skipping this track. It is truly the heartbeat of the album.

5. Ariadne

After this massive song, Ariadne has a tough task. However, the song works out well. Again, Yes start with a classical instrumentation, before the drums and guitars join in. The collaboration of the classical instruments works beautifully with the “traditional” progressive rock elements. It even works out better than in the opener, so that the fifth song is another massive, hymnic track with interesting twists and turns.

6. All Hands on Deck

All Hands on Deck starts with powerful guitar riffs. Don’t waste time, as these three minutes almost feel like a short story after all the epic works before. The song might confuse Yes fans, as it is overall more rocking than you are used to. Nonetheless, it simply works out well and leaves a mark in the context of Aurora.

7. Outside the Box

The seventh track is truly Outside the Box. Already the first moments tell that to the listener, when it welcomes with multi-layered vocals. It is definitely the most experimental song of the album. But once you get into it, it is also a nice fit.

8. Emotional Intelligence

As the two remaining songs are explicitly marked as bonus tracks, Emotional Intelligence is something like a first closing song of Aurora. The title already tells the topic of the song, which is rather vocal-centric. Later parts also show some more of Yes’ instrumental powers.

9. Jambustin’ (bonus track)

The two closing bonus tracks are both about 4:30 minutes long. Jambustin’ thereby references Don’t Kill The Whale (1978). It takes some time to get into the song, which comes with a strong atmosphere, while the plot and structure does not feel as strong as other songs of the album.

10. Watching the River Roll (bonus track)

The in-fact last song of Aurora is Watching the River Roll, which is opened by strumming acoustic guitar sounds. The song comes with a beautiful, harmonic melody, which somehow leads to a gentle and heartwarming farewell. The chorus definitely stays in your mind – so that the song absolutely gets its job done.

 

Yes – Aurora – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Yes – Aurora – My View

Wow, Aurora is a massive blast. Yes shows that they are still doing great music. There is no doubt about that they master their instruments – but they also still manage to turn that into great music. Thus, it is hard to think too strongly about the very few slightly weaker moments on the album.

Favorite Song: Countermovement

 

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