SINGLE REVIEW: Yes Cats – Delay
After ten seconds of deliberate silence, ‘Delay’ gently reveals itself — first as a flicker, then as a full emotional landscape. A fragile, twangy guitar slips into focus, setting a tone that’s intimate and quietly disarming before the track gradually blossoms into a soft, laid-back groove.
The guitars begin to twinkle, light catching on every note, while the drums shimmer quietly underneath, adding movement without disturbing the stillness. When the vocals arrive, they do so with a soft richness — open, vulnerable, and carrying the kind of warmth that makes you instinctively lean in. There’s an unforced sincerity here, a closeness that anchors the entire song.
As ‘Delay’ unfolds, the instrumentation subtly builds, the guitars growing more commanding and expansive before easing back into something delicate again. The instrumental passages are especially striking: sparse yet deeply affecting, letting space do the emotional heavy lifting. It’s introspective in a way that feels unhurried — the kind of song that lets you sit with your own thoughts without pushing them in any direction.
The vocals shift beautifully throughout, stepping away from their softness at key moments to lift into full power, carrying an almost arty, expressive edge as they rise. This ebb and flow gives the track a sense of movement, like waves rolling in and pulling back.
Stylistically, it sits comfortably within sweeping, rolling indie rock, but with hints of new romantic shimmer and touches of something slightly ethereal. The result is cathartic, not in an explosive way, but in a gentle release — a soft exhale after holding tension you didn’t realise was there.
‘Delay’ is a thoughtful, atmospheric piece from Yes Cats, quietly powerful and beautifully put together — a song that lingers, not because it shouts, but because it understands the impact of restraint.
