Just when you thought the universe couldn’t get any more gloriously weird, Yes have returned with another cosmic transmission from their upcoming album Aurora — and this one absolutely sparkles with psychedelic energy, prog wizardry and enough musical twists to make your old record player spontaneously grow a cape.
The legendary prog icons have unveiled brand-new single “Turnaround Situation”, accompanied by an eye-popping animated video that feels like somebody locked a lava lamp inside a spaceship and handed control of the visuals to an interdimensional art goblin. 🌌😈
And honestly?
It’s magnificent.
Because while the modern music world continues obsessing over three-minute algorithm bait and TikTok trends that disappear faster than chips at a festival campsite, Yes are still out here crafting adventurous, ambitious, colourful music that sounds like it was forged somewhere beyond Saturn.
Only prog bands can release something this unapologetically strange and make fans respond with:
“YES. MORE OF THIS PLEASE.” 😂🤘
🎶 “TURNAROUND SITUATION” FEELS LIKE CLASSIC YES COLLIDING WITH A SUPERNOVA
The second “Turnaround Situation” kicks in, you know exactly what sort of ride you’re in for.
This isn’t background music.
This isn’t playlist filler.
This is PROPER prog rock chaos.
The track bounces between intricate instrumentation, soaring melodies and rhythmic shifts with the confidence of musicians who’ve spent decades mastering the art of musical unpredictability.
There are layers everywhere:
- Floating keyboards 🎹
- Punchy bass grooves 🔥
- Expansive guitar textures 🎸
- Ethereal vocal passages 🌠
- Sudden dynamic turns that hit like a pint glass flying through a festival tent 🍺😂
And somehow — despite all the complexity — the song never loses its sense of fun.
That’s one of the things Yes have always done brilliantly.
Some prog bands disappear so far up their own technical wizard towers that the music becomes exhausting homework.
Yes, even at their most complex, still sound like they’re genuinely enjoying the madness.
“Turnaround Situation” has movement, groove and life pumping through every second. It dances. It spirals. It glides. It erupts.
At times it almost feels theatrical — like a soundtrack to some enormous intergalactic fantasy adventure where a wizard bassist must save the galaxy using only a twelve-string guitar and the power of harmonised vocals.
Standard Tuesday for prog fans really. 😅
🎥 THE ANIMATED VIDEO LOOKS LIKE A ROGER DEAN PAINTING AFTER SIX ENERGY DRINKS
Now let’s discuss the animated video because GOOD LORD, this thing is absolutely bonkers in the best possible way.
The visuals are drenched in psychedelic prog energy from start to finish:
- Endless cosmic landscapes 🌌
- Abstract dream imagery 🌀
- Exploding colours 🎨
- Floating geometric worlds 🔮
- Strange symbolic creatures 👁️
- Celestial portals and impossible dimensions 🚀
It’s the sort of thing that makes complete sense while watching it… and then five minutes later you suddenly realise:
“Hang on… what on earth did I just witness?” 😂
And that’s EXACTLY what you want from a Yes visual experience.
There’s a proper old-school prog spirit to the whole thing too. It feels rooted in the classic era where album artwork, stage design and music all merged into one giant imaginative universe.
You can practically imagine fans in the 1970s sitting cross-legged in dark bedrooms staring at this sort of imagery while the room slowly disappears into a cloud of incense smoke and questionable decision-making. 🌿😈
Honestly, the video doesn’t just accompany the song — it expands it.
It pulls you deeper into the weirdness.
And we’re absolutely here for every glorious second of it.
🌠 AURORA IS SHAPING UP TO BE A MASSIVE PROG EVENT
Every preview from Aurora so far has hinted that Yes aren’t interested in coasting on nostalgia.
This isn’t some half-hearted legacy album built purely to cash in on old memories.
There’s genuine ambition here.
Real creativity.
Real experimentation.
That’s what makes this release exciting.
Too many veteran bands fall into predictable territory:
- Safe songwriting
- Generic production
- Lifeless recreations of past glories
Yes continue sounding like a band chasing ideas rather than repeating them.
And that’s why they remain one of the most important names in progressive rock history.
You can hear decades of experience in these songs, but you can also hear curiosity.
That hunger to keep exploring.
That willingness to get weird.
Prog fans LIVE for that sort of thing.
🎹 WHY YES STILL FEEL IMPORTANT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Let’s be honest for a second — without Yes, the entire progressive rock landscape would look completely different.
Their influence stretches across:
- Progressive metal ⚡
- Symphonic rock 🎻
- Experimental rock 🌀
- Psychedelic music 🌌
- Modern prog revival bands 🔥
You can hear pieces of Yes in countless artists who came after them.
The huge arrangements.
The adventurous songwriting.
The atmospheric layering.
The fearless musicianship.
But despite decades of imitators, nobody truly sounds like Yes.
Because Yes music isn’t just technical.
It’s emotional.
Beneath all the complexity there’s warmth, wonder and imagination.
That’s why their music still resonates.
Even younger fans discovering the band for the first time often end up completely sucked into that universe of sound.
And honestly? In an age where so much music feels disposable, hearing a band still committed to building entire sonic worlds feels refreshing as hell.
🤘 THE BEAUTY OF PROG ROCK’S WEIRDNESS
One thing “Turnaround Situation” reminds us of is just how important weird music actually is.
Rock music SHOULD have strange corners.
It SHOULD have bands willing to experiment.
It SHOULD occasionally sound like someone’s plugged a cathedral organ into a spaceship engine.
That unpredictability is what keeps the genre alive.
Without bands like Yes pushing boundaries decades ago, modern heavy music would probably be far safer, flatter and infinitely less exciting.
Prog gives rock music permission to dream bigger.
And even now, Yes still sound like dreamers.
🍻 IMAGINE HEARING THIS LIVE
Can we just take a moment to picture what this track could become live? 🔥
You already know there’ll be:
- Massive atmospheric lighting 🌌
- Fans swaying with eyes closed 🎹
- One bloke near the front air-keyboarding like his mortgage depends on it 😂
- A ten-minute instrumental section that accidentally bends time itself 🌀
- Someone in the crowd shouting “PLAY ROUNDABOUT!” regardless of what’s happening 😅
Prog crowds are their own beautiful species.
And honestly?
We adore them for it.
🔥 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
“Turnaround Situation” is everything prog fans could want:
✅ Adventurous
✅ Colourful
✅ Weird
✅ Technical
✅ Emotional
✅ Completely unapologetic
The track proves that Yes still have the imagination, musicianship and creative fire that made them legends in the first place.
Meanwhile the animated video looks like somebody turned the inside of a wizard’s brain into a cosmic fireworks display.
Absolute scenes. 😂🌌
If Aurora continues at this level, we could be looking at one of the most exciting prog releases of the year.
And honestly, fair play to Yes for still refusing to play it safe after all these years.
Because while the rest of the music world chases trends…
Yes are still floating through the cosmos wearing capes made entirely of keyboards and stardust.
And long may that continue, butt. 🤘🔥
