Soft is the first new collection of music to be released under the Yellow Ostrich moniker since 2014's Krautrock and Carl Sagan-influenced Cosmos. In the interim between the two projects, mastermind Alex Schaff issued a slew of dynamic lo-fi-pop emissions under his own name and compiled the highlights from those sessions on Like a Bird: An Alex Schaaf Anthology 2010-2021. More refined and inward-looking than its predecessor, Soft bears the hallmarks of a Yellow Ostrich creation. Schaaf's talent for pairing architecturally sound and immaculately rendered bedroom pop with thoughtful lyrics remains intact. Aptly named, Soft pivots from the sonic urgency of prior outings; autobiographical and meditative, the ten-song set toes the line between the guarded cynicism of Pheobe Bridgers and the beatific sincerity of Sufjan Stevens. Opener "Body of Mine" parses the murky nuances of existential angst via a mysterious bruise ("Don't know when this body of mine has had enough"), while the languid "Birds" distills desire into a simple koan ("Birds just want what they want, clouds just want what they want.") Melancholy abounds, but Schaaf wisely peppers the proceedings with bursts of instrumental color, like the ghostly saxophone that creeps into "Los Angeles" and the soaring guitar lead that appears at the end of the dusky power pop gem "Last Summer." Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, the ten-track set doesn't overstay its welcome, nor does it feel slight. It's not bereft of earworms, but it does require patience to absorb them, which squares with the overall vibe.