by Geoff Bailie
After 58 years, 24 studio albums, and a catalogue that helped define
progressive rock, how should we approach a new album by Yes? The 2025
USA Fragile Tour programme described Yes as a band who “constantly
evolve and create a sound unlike anyone else’s”, with each member
bringing “exceptional skill and a distinctive style to the shared
vision”. So does Aurora deliver against that definition?
The current – and now longest-standing – line-up has barely paused for breath since the release of The Quest in late 2021. Mirror to the Sky
followed in 2023, with Jay Schellen stepping fully into the drum role
after the passing of Alan White, and many fans felt that album
represented another step forward. All the while, the band toured the
world performing classic Yes albums, deep cuts, and newer material with
real conviction. And so to Aurora, the third Yes studio album released through Inside Out Music – and, for me, the strongest album of the Jon Davison era so far.
What sets Aurora apart is that it finally sounds like a
fully unified band rather than a collection of exceptional musicians
preserving a legacy. The last two albums certainly had strong moments,
but perhaps felt a little cautious. Here there’s a greater willingness
to embrace contrasting moods and unexpected musical turns, while still
sounding unmistakably like Yes. Add to that a rhythm section that feels
genuinely locked in, Geoff Downes’ keyboards pushed much further forward
in the mix, and the increasingly rich vocal blend developing between
Jon Davison, Steve Howe, and Billy Sherwood, and you have an album with
far more personality and confidence.
When we spoke to Jon Davison recently, he attributed some of that evolution to the way this album was created. Mirror to the Sky had begun while Alan White was still alive, with Jay Schellen joining partway through the process. Aurora, by contrast, was shaped by all five members from start to finish — and you can hear the difference.
The album opens magnificently. Downes’ piano, joined by Paul K
Joyce’s orchestration, creates a cinematic opening that genuinely feels
like the start of an event. If you ever wanted a Yes intro tape for a
live show, surely this is it! Repeated listens reveal recurring motifs
and clever musical callbacks throughout the opening title track, along
with an impressive variety of keyboard and guitar textures. The
arrangement keeps evolving without ever losing momentum.
Then comes “Turnaround Situation,” which captures the “complex
simplicity” that has always sat at the heart of great Yes music. Strong
harmonies, Hammond organ, and Howe’s signature guitar riffing suddenly
give way to one of the album’s first genuinely surprising moments: Steve
delivers a beautifully loose jazz-style solo, but played on
nylon-string guitar. It’s completely unexpected and absolutely right for
the song. The middle section – piano, slide steel guitar, and a quietly
superb rhythm section underneath – is another reminder of how well this
line-up now functions as an ensemble.
“Love Lies Dreaming” shifts the mood again. Sherwood’s bass work in
the introduction is excellent, and the song provides one of the album’s
more reflective moments without losing the richness of the arrangements
around it. One of the album’s biggest strengths is the sheer variety of
sounds it contains. Acoustic guitars, layers of keyboards,
orchestration, unusual guitar tones – all of it feels carefully
considered without becoming over-produced. The mix is particularly
impressive, giving every instrument space while still preserving the
density that makes Yes music feel immersive.
Of course, many prog fans will head straight for the epic
“Countermovement,” perhaps hoping for “Close to the Edge Part 2.”
Thankfully, that’s not what this is! Structurally, the closest
comparison is probably Abbey Road Side Two: a sequence of interconnected
musical ideas flowing naturally into one another rather than a single
recurring thematic framework. That approach suits the piece perfectly.
Howe’s delicate opening vocal in the Anytime Soon section is one of the
album’s most unexpectedly moving moments, before the Blink Of An Eye
section built around identity and artificial intelligence (the “in the
blink of AI” lyric genuinely made me smile) brings a contemporary edge
without sounding forced. Schellen and Sherwood deliver a strong
instrumental detour and the track closes with a beautifully understated a
cappella reprise that lingers long after the song ends.
“Ariadne” takes another left turn entirely, drawing on Greek
mythology without becoming overly literal in its storytelling. The
atmosphere here is superb. Strings, layered vocals, strange guitar
textures, and some particularly strong vocal work from Billy Sherwood
create one of the album’s most cinematic tracks. This is also where the
production really shines: lavish and detailed, occasionally
over-the-top, but always in service of the music rather than simply
showing off!
Then comes perhaps the album’s biggest surprise. “All Hands On Deck”
opens with one of the heaviest guitar riffs heard on a Yes album in
years – when Hammond organ is added, it’s almost a modern day Deep
Purple-style sound initially. Davison sings much of the track in a lower
than normal register, reinforcing how far beyond simply “sounding like
Jon Anderson” his role in the band has evolved. Howe’s lead vocal in the
chorus works brilliantly, especially when paired with Davison’s
responses, while Downes contributes clever keyboard interjections,
sympathetic to the organic sound of this track. One major takeaway from
Aurora overall is how much more present Geoff feels within the
arrangements. The long-established working relationship between Howe and
Downes now seems fully settled in the modern Yes context; both players
understand exactly where their sounds complement rather than compete
with one another.
The album’s instrumental-with-vocals piece, “Outside The Box,” is
another genuinely unusual moment in the Yes catalogue. Beginning as a
delicate acoustic guitar composition accompanied by layered “la la la”
vocals that somehow evoke both Leave It and medieval choral music, the
track gradually expands into something stranger and far more
atmospheric. Drums, bass, electric guitar textures, and ambient
soundscapes slowly emerge around it. It’s adventurous, slightly
eccentric, and exactly the sort of risk a band at this stage of its
career could easily avoid taking – but they took it, and I’m glad they
did!
The closing track, “Emotional Intelligence,” strips things back
again. Built around piano and a strong central melody, it highlights
Davison’s growing importance to the band not only as a vocalist but as a
multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. There’s a confidence to his
writing throughout Aurora that feels notably stronger than on previous
albums.
The bonus tracks continue the unusually high standard. “Jambustin’”
provides a lighter change of pace, while “Watching The River Roll” feels
far too substantial to be dismissed as a bonus. Howe’s Portuguese
guitar, Sherwood’s vocal, and the flowing arrangement briefly hint at
“Your Move” territory before moving somewhere entirely its own. The
keyboard and guitar interplay here is especially effective.
I’m not sure any of us entirely know what we expect from a new Yes album in 2026 – perhaps the band itself doesn’t either. But Aurora
succeeds because it doesn’t try to recreate the past and instead
focuses on what this version of Yes uniquely does well. The dynamics,
diversity, musicianship, and sheer confidence on display throughout
these 60 minutes reveal a band that is still creatively alive, still
evolving, and still capable of taking listeners somewhere unexpected.
And ultimately, that feels completely true to the description from the Fragile tour programme: “exceptional skill and a distinctive style brought to a shared vision”. Aurora doesn’t simply remind us what Yes once were; it makes a convincing case for what they still can be.
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