Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures embrace a sonic allure with ‘Songbird’
The Boston rock and roll band provides a melodically lush compass for compassion on soaring new single out Friday, September 20
Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures’ new album ‘Opus’ out November 1
BOSTON, Mass. [September 20, 2024] -- Derek Smith has been writing songs as far back as he can remember. But lately, as Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures continue their ascent in the New England music scene and beyond, the prolific and tireless artist is not just penning songs, but intentionally crafting them.
The latest in the blossoming sonic arsenal of Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures is the magnetic “Songbird,” an alluring new single set for streaming release on Friday, September 20. It’s the fourth single of 2024 from the genre-expanding rock and roll band, following this summer’s electric spark plug “Tomorrow Morning,” and both are featured on the band’s forthcoming new album Opus, out in November.
The melodically lush and sonically dense “Songbird,” with its inviting nature and rolling propulsion, opens the new record – bringing the listener instantly into Smith’s expansive and creative world. It’s an invitation: one to join in, and one to become a part of the growing tribe and revel in a shared community.
“‘Songbird’ is about people,” Smith says. “We sing the same song. We follow similar patterns to each other. We have secrets, ideas, fears. We all eat, sleep, breathe, lie to ourselves, cry, laugh. We all question things. At least the smart ones do. And we are all going to walk that mile. That one last stroll to whatever our ultimate finale is supposed to be, or what we force it to be. Is it a rebirth? Is it a final resting place? We don’t know. So we make up a fantasy of what it could be.”
The new single is a compass for compassion; it’s a way forward, through the highs and lows of life, softening the twists and turns and highlighting the good while snuffing out the bad. It’s a song rooted in 2024, but its sound rings out as timeless as echoes of ‘70s AM radio gold canvas a yearning spectrum that soars through the songs that shaped us before touching down in the modern day.
“We should never stop squinting our eyes at life,” he adds. “We need to keep discovering and keep wondering. But we need to laugh on the way to the finish line. Because life is the perfect blend of ugliness and beauty.”
Capturing the sentiments that define our daily lives has been at the forefront of Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures’ recent creative output. And the sound rings loud across stages from Cambridge to Keene, with a pair of live shows fast approaching that bridge the new single and the new album: October 5 at Koto in Lowell and October 6 at LORM Music Festival in Chicopee.
“Musically, it’s all business as usual,” Smith says. “We are releasing another portion of my songwriting catalog with this record. However, our approach is a bit different. We are working with a variety of different engineers and recorded different instruments in different areas.”
The flurry of fall activity arrives to find the band hitting a new creative gear. “Songbird” and its musical warmth and enchanting charm further showcases another side of the collective, rounded out by Smith on lead and backing vocals and rhythm acoustic guitar; Michael Strakus on lead and rhythm electric guitar; Steve Constantino on bass; Dalton DeLima on drums and percussion; and new recruit Justin Lopes on keyboards.
“Songbird” was mixed at Berlin Audio Productions by Erik von Geldern and Don Schweihofer; mastered by David Locke; and engineered by von Geldern, Schweihofer, and Jon Chesbro, with Rob Countie on as engineering assistant. The single’s artwork was contributed by Smith’s father, accomplished painter and artist Robert Smith.
Each contribution to “Songbird,” from the songwriting to its performance to its production to its artwork, continues to push forward the world of the Cosmic Vultures, and adds to the track’s relentless charm. It's a soft rock earworm that lodges in the deep recesses of the brain and refuses to leave.
“‘Songbird’ wraps a blanket around you on a brisk morning and says, ‘Follow me,’” Smith notes. “This felt like an inviting song and with the tone of this record, I wanted to start it off with a bang. There are certainly some moody songs off of this record, but sometimes the first hello is the most important. It also says that this band is a tight-knit unit. We play well together and we complement each other.”
And while it suggests a new chapter is ahead for the emerging band, the journey to get to this moment has been building over the past year or so. Summer single “Tomorrow Morning,” which glistened and glowed with ‘70s rock ambition and a stirring cocktail of glam, psych, and soft rock, hit Number 4 on the global Radio Indie Alliance charts.
It continues a steep upward trajectory for the collective, continuing a sonic shift that began last fall with the anthemic and gritty “Black Angel” and carrying over into 2024 with January’s celestial alt-rock galaxy cruise called “Waiting” and April’s commanding “White Spade Symphony,” which earned widespread indie radio airplay and blog praise, landing on Stereogum’s list of notable releases the week is surfaced.
After forming roughly a decade ago, the Cosmic Vultures developed a reputation around New England for their electric live show and eclectic blend of undefinable rock and roll. But a few years back, Smith – the frontman, vocalist, and principal songwriter – branched out with solo material, unleashing the creative fire burning within. He released a pair of albums (2022’s Rubedo and last year’s Obscura) that explored new musical territories, and the Vultures were nominated for Rock Artist of the Year at the 2023 New England Music Awards.
Before the year was out, Smith and the band decided to merge and become a unified entity, re-christening the project as Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures. Now they’re building on the momentum of the prior singles as a central line of thought permeates through the band’s music, even if those elements are not so clearly visible on the surface. And the band is racking up tens of thousands of Spotify plays, all organically, for the latest singles.
Coincidentally enough, “Songbird” has existed nearly as long as the band itself. Smith kept the bare bones of the track in his back pocket for years, allowing the foundation – the lyrics, the chord progression – to simmer and act at the ready for the right moment.
“This felt like the perfect time to perform some necromancy on it,” Smith says with a laugh. “The one thing I didn’t have though was the bridge. So I came up with a solid bridge which is in the middle of the song and then decided to end the song droning on those chords. It just felt like that’s where the song wanted to go thematically and musically.”
He adds: “After putting the final touches on the bridge and hearing the song as a whole, I felt it was special. Like something that could potentially be universal. It has this epic feel to it. I also knew it was going to open the album. As soon as I decided to make an album, I said, ‘Songbird is going to open it’.”
And it reveals a powerful message, one that takes the creative swirl of Smith and his bandmates and extends it outward, inviting all who want to join in along for the ride.
“With these new songs, I especially feel like I am attempting to really say something,” Smith concludes. “I am really proud of my work. I don’t live for feedback, but I won’t lie that it does affect me. And lately, the feedback to my songwriting has been nothing but wonderful. And it only wants to make me write more and more.”
Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures are:
Derek Smith: Lead and Backing Vocals and Rhythm Acoustic Guitar
Michael Strakus: Lead and Rhythm Electric Guitar
Steve Constantino: Bass
Dalton DeLima: Drums
Justin Lopes: Keyboard
‘Songbird’ single credits:
Music and lyrics written by Derek Smith
Music performed by Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures
Mixed at Berlin Audio Productions by Erik von Geldern and Don Schweihofer
Mastered by David Locke
Engineered by Erik von Geldern, Don Schweihofer and Jon Chesbro
Engineering Assistant: Rob Countie
‘Songbird’ single artwork:
Art by Robert Smith; design by Derek Smith
Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures short bio:
Based out of Boston and born out of the North Shore of Massachusetts, Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures epitomize a nuanced blend of alternative, psychedelic, funk and indie rock vibes, encapsulated within an introspective musical narrative.
The band is composed of frontman and rhythm guitarist Derek Smith, bassist Steve Constantino, rhythm and lead guitarists Michael Strakus and Jonathan Chesbro, and drummer Matt Beddia.
Smith’s songwriting process stems from an immersion into particular moods, channeling these emotions into evocative musical pieces. He eschews conventional song structures, opting instead to tell intricate stories through song fragments, ultimately creating a cohesive tapestry that fills the gaps of his intricate mental landscape.
With two back to back nominations at the New England Music Awards for “Artist of the Year” and “Rock Act of the Year” in 2022 and 2023 respectfully, Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures remain a mainstay in the New England music scene with their dynamic and eclectic music and energetic live shows.
In late 2023, Derek Smith merged his acclaimed solo efforts (two self-released albums and recent single “Black Angel”) with the band’s extensive catalog, marking a new era for both entities. A new single, titled “Waiting” and produced by Dave Minehan at Waltham’s Wooly Mammoth Sound, arrived in January, with singles like “White Spade Symphony” and “Tomorrow Morning” highlighting 2024. A new Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures album, Opus, led by September single “Songbird”, arrives in November. Come along for the ride.
Media praise for Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures:
“The prolific Boston songwriter Derek Smith has made a string of impressive indie-folk and psych recordings both under his name and with his band the Cosmic Vultures. Now the two entities have combined into one. ‘Tomorrow Morning,’ the lead-off track from their upcoming album Opus is an undeniably catchy glam-pop combustion that would have ruled the radio if it had been released 50 years ago. Listen at your own risk, because this song will stay stuck in your head all week.” _WBUR, Bostons NPR
“Stirringly soulful. Sparklingly pop melodic. Americana-like emotive. If you mix those three elements, and you add heart-whole vocals, you get this titillating tune that’ll play around in your head all day long.” – Turn Up The Volume
“Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures awaken rock with ‘White Spade Symphony’.” – Pure M Zine
“Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures clearly operate on a different wavelength than the rest of us… and for that we are eternally grateful.” – The Whole Kameese
“‘White Spade Symphony’ is an absolute epic. It combines alt-rock with psychedelia and Americana in a huge sounding song just waiting to be played at the biggest stages around. …around the halfway mark the song just takes off with a blistering guitar solo that elevates the song to epic territory. This is the level of artists like Band of Horses or Kings of Leon’s first two albums.” – If It’s Too Loud
Step back in time with Derek Smith… If someone had told me [‘Tomorrow Morning’] was a long lost single from the 1970s I would have believed it. There’s some ‘Goat Head Soup’ style, so Mick Taylor influenced, song, some Fleetwood Mac, some Jefferson Starship, as in Craig Chaquico styled, smooth guitar playing and the vocal style of a host of singers from the era who were not afraid of showing off their vocal range. Derek Smith and band all recreate this with a very nice song of their own. Tomorrow Morning is a rich song, with a lush arrangement. It shows the aspirations of the band. With a sound like this you do not want to play in the local pub or community centre. Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures seem ready to go way beyond.” _WoNoBlog
“Derek Smith has a style that is a chilled out mix of soul and R&B but still feels like it falls under the indie umbrella. It feels simple and classic as everything for the most part happens over just two chords with slick 70's jazzy guitar licks. It's really refreshing to hear artists that understand what ‘Less is More’ means and how to implement that into their overall sound. There is no bridge, not really a chorus, the only key change is at the end under the guitar solo but this song works as something I could definitely listen to over and over again.” – Blood Makes Noise
“Alternative and Grunge come to mind immediately when listening through ‘Waiting’ with airs of Jerry Cantrell’s solo work rather than Alice in Chains as a lush and still catchy ass chorus at its’ gooey, creamy center is surrounded by some truly meaty melodies for an entree that embodies sonic succulence. Wailing guitars from Jonathan Chesbro, Michael Strakus, and Smith come out of the ‘Waiting’ gate swinging offering complex textures amongst its’ sanguine sounds with Smith’s powerful vocal performance seemingly effortlessly poking through the punchy layers as Steve Constantino’s bass and Dalton DeLima’s drumming rhythmically rumble in contrast.” – Rock And Roll Fables
HOMEPAGE . SPOTIFY . BANDCAMP . APPLE . INSTAGRAM . FACEBOOK . YOUTUBE . LINKTREE
