Aurora
Yes · Progressive Rock
Reviewed 2026-06-12
The Roast
“Congratulations, Yes. You have released your 24th studio album, which is either a monument to human perseverance or proof that nobody in your management team knows how to say the word 'enough.' Aurora arrives in 2026 via InsideOut Music and Sony, and it completes what Jon Davison is calling a 'trifecta' with The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. A trifecta, Jon. That's a horse racing term. You are a prog rock band with a Czech National Symphony Orchestra on speed dial. The metaphor budget has clearly been stretched as thin as the inspiration. Louder Sound already clocked it, calling the record an album 'relying on muscle memory rather than real inspiration,' and honestly that receipt stings because muscle memory is exactly what this sounds like: five very talented professionals doing the thing they have always done, from their home studios, via remote workflow, because apparently the Classic Tales of YES tour tired everyone out so much that being in the same room was no longer on the table. To be fair, Geoff Downes promised in early 2025 that Aurora would be 'a lot more progressive sounding than the last few albums,' and sure, you brought in a full symphony orchestra conducted by Vladimir Martinka, so technically the ambition is there on paper. But ambition on paper and ambition on tape are two very different animals. Glide Magazine diplomatically noted 'moments of brilliance despite uneven journey,' which in critic-speak translates to: the good parts are really good and the rest is filler wearing a cape. Ten tracks plus two bonus cuts called 'Jambustin'' and 'Watching the River Roll' suggests you did not run out of ideas so much as you refused to edit the ones you had. 'Jambustin'' is a bonus track title that sounds like a rejected name for a fiber supplement, and you put it on a deluxe artbook edition that also comes on light green vinyl. The aesthetic is immaculate. The curation is generous to a fault. Steve Howe does pick up a Portuguese 12-string, which is genuinely the most interesting creative decision on the record and the one moment where it feels like someone in the room got curious rather than comfortable. Roger Dean and his daughter Freya Dean handle the artwork, and of course it looks stunning, because Roger Dean has never once let a Yes album down visually even when the music inside is doing its best to coast. You sold 500 copies of a grape-colored vinyl exclusive through your own store, which is charming in a 'band selling merch from a folding table' kind of way. Aurora is a record that loves Yes fans and expects Yes fans to love it back unconditionally, and for the most devoted among them, that contract will hold just fine.”
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The Bright Side
Steve Howe reaching for a Portuguese 12-string is the album's single most exciting moment and proof that genuine curiosity still lives somewhere in this band. The Czech National Symphony Orchestra adds real orchestral weight that elevates the record above pure nostalgia, and Prog Report was not wrong to call it the strongest Jon Davison era album so far. The Roger and Freya Dean artwork is predictably gorgeous and proves that some traditions are worth keeping exactly as they are.
Hardest Sneer
“Your 24th album is so comfortable it has basically achieved sentience and asked for slippers.”
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Issues (4)
Muscle Memory Is Not a Creative Strategy
Receipt
Louder Sound called Aurora an album 'relying on muscle memory rather than real inspiration,' and the remote home studio workflow used to develop it suggests the band never even had to look each other in the eye to make creative decisions.
Fix
Get in a room together. Physical proximity creates friction, and friction creates choices. The Portuguese 12-string moment proves Howe still has surprises in him when he reaches for something unfamiliar. Build a whole album around that instinct instead of one track.
The Trifecta Nobody Asked For
Receipt
Jon Davison described Aurora as completing a 'trifecta' with The Quest (2021) and Mirror to the Sky (2023), framing three albums in five years as a planned artistic arc rather than what Glide Magazine politely called an 'uneven journey.'
Fix
Trilogies need internal contrast to justify the concept. If you are going to sell three albums as a unified statement, the third entry needs to feel like a culmination, not a continuation. Define what Aurora resolves that the first two left open, and make that resolution audible.
'Jambustin'' Is a Bonus Track Title, Not a Song Title
Receipt
The album ships with two bonus tracks: 'Jambustin'' and 'Watching the River Roll.' One of these sounds like a spontaneous studio experiment that was correctly identified as not quite album-worthy and then incorrectly included anyway on a premium deluxe format.
Fix
Bonus tracks on a deluxe artbook edition should be rarities that reward serious fans, not jam sessions with playful names that undercut the orchestral seriousness you spent the rest of the album building. Cut 'Jambustin'' or rename it something that belongs on the same record as a Czech symphony orchestra.
The Grape Vinyl Is Doing More Marketing Work Than the Music
Receipt
A grape-colored vinyl limited to 500 copies sold via the band's official store is a smart collectible move, but when the most talked-about aesthetic choice on a release is the color of the physical format rather than any specific musical moment, your packaging is outperforming your songs.
Fix
Let the music generate the conversation and let the vinyl be a reward for people already converted. That means front-loading press coverage with the Czech orchestra arrangements and the Portuguese 12-string work, not the color of the wax.