Boston songwriter is ‘upside down and bewildered… in a surreal world’ through a new cinematic soul EP out Friday, August 21
It’s often said that every great story told from one to another must have both a proper beginning and end, to help set a tone, wrap things up, and properly illuminate all that may transpire in between. Derek Smith, the one-man ringleader of prolific Boston collaborative outfit Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, understands this approach more than most.
In the genre-shifting project’s hypnotic new four-song EP, Songs from the Plastic Ballroom, an expansive romp through cinematic soul and phantom pop set for release on Friday, August 21, the first four words of the lead track’s lyrics and the last four words sang on the final number bookend all the sentiments, sounds, and sonic sanctity captured within.
Those eight words, paired together like a playfully extended lyrical portmanteau and pulled from opener “Rolling Over” and closer “Surreal World,” offer perhaps the most revealing invitational glimpse into Smith’s current headspace: “Upside down and bewildered… in a surreal world.”
It’s a reflection most of us are feeling these days, where a sense of hope has been replaced by mental escapism, and any optimism for the future has been shelved for a desire for pure survival. Smith’s approach to confronting our societal madness is to create music, and continues to do so with a daydream distraction that has taken us to all the fantasy lands of his creative lens.
Now, we’re welcomed to his Plastic Ballroom, and his soundtrack is one with no shortage of human allure as we all attempt to make sense of reality’s insanity in front of us each day.
“The Plastic Ballroom isn’t a physical place – it’s a state of mind,” Smith says. “It’s the room where people perform the versions of themselves they think everyone wants to see. Everything is polished, smiling, rehearsed… but beneath that surface there’s anxiety, loneliness, nostalgia, and dreams trying to break through.”
Led by focus track “Astral Days,” the Bandcamp-exclusive August 5 release of aforementioned opener “Rolling Over,” and completed by “I Don’t Wanna See You Cry” and “Surreal World,” Songs from the Plastic Ballroom continues Smith’s white-hot creative streak, even as it finds him embracing a new soul-driven and Motown-tinged sound.
The new EP is the follow-up to June’s unhinged and confrontational rock and roll dagger “Lady Bathory,” which added a newfound snarl to Smith’s recent folk- and psych-leaning releases, and January’s silky folk-rock single “Hollow Choir,” his 80th song release in his blossoming career. Incredibly, neither of those 2026 releases appear on this EP, Smith’s first collection of tunes since last year’s expansive art-rock EPs Temporary Circus.
And that’s by design, as the four songs here exist in their own world, continuing to stretch Smith’s kaleidoscopic sound. Through his solo material and work under the Cosmic Vultures banner, Smith has left an eclectic trail of music, a meandering romp through various genre lanes, where traces of pop-rock, alternative, Americana, indie, post-glam, British Invasion, Yacht Rock, and AM ‘70s gold run wild, channeling a decade-spanning sound with Smith’s creative headspace as the connective tissue.
Songs from the Plastic Ballroom explores some new territory, where Motown and soul meets lounge acts and showbiz performances of a long-gone era. There’s a timelessness to the sound here, one that came organically as Smith navigated the visions in his head, and with the tutelage of studio collaborators, brought a new aural complexion to his already vast spectrum of music.
“Sometimes you do need to shake things up a bit and see how songs can sound from a different approach,” he admits. “I’m the same songwriter I’ve always been, but I think I’m at a place where I’d like to squeeze oranges into a cup instead of buying a carton of juice.”
Aiding the grip of that squeeze are Smith’s trusted collaborators in this new era, the EP’s producers and engineers Erik von Geldern and Don Schweihofer of Berlin Audio in Massachusetts, who also lent their musical vision to “Lady Bathory.” With Smith on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Erik von Geldern supplies guitars, bass, keys and background vocals, while Schweihofer contributes drums, percussion, keys and background vocals. Additionally, Steve Audy chips in acoustic guitar on “I Don’t Wanna See You Cry.”
“We’re all looking at songs from a different angle, and allowing different instruments to be the center of attention,” Smith adds. “Everything feels polished to me, which is super exciting. Erik and Don are dream makers. Literally. You can bring them a composition and they will work extremely hard on bringing the song to another level. I can’t say enough about the two of them and what they brought to the EP and my general outlook on approaching production.”
Both von Geldern and Schweihofer have been instrumental in shaping this new sound of Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, assisting Smith in a smooth transition from the jagged edge of “Lady Bathory” to the inviting, soulful sounds heard across Songs from the Plastic Ballroom, where four demos swirling in Smith’s head for some time came together and found a connective tissue in the studio.
“It was just a feeling, and feeling very comfortable with these four songs being together for one cohesive release,” Smith adds. “It was completely natural. Working with Erik Von Geldern and Don Schweihofer is always a ride because we approach songs a certain way and then they may end up different. These four we were just so pleased with. This was a good opportunity to really focus on what is best for a release. I could have done a full-length, but I like it when the audience is not fatigued by the idea of listening to over 30 to 35 minutes of music.”
Instead, they are treated to four heavy doses of artistic expression in three-minute bursts, where the music combines relaxed tempos and a laid-back mood with occasional fits of drama. “Rolling Over” exudes a summer glaze from the darkest of lounges; “I Don’t Wanna See You Cry” boasts a ‘70-era neo-soul and Motown glow; “Astral Days” dances easy through a loose and confident strut before a frenetic release of dynamic tension takes over; and “Surreal World” glides along with an upbeat bounce and groove-laden buoyancy
And all four draw lyrics to the dreams that fill Smith’s head each night as he hits the pillow and drifts away in an overnight detachment from reality.
“A lot of the lyrics in all four songs are from dreams. I try to keep a dream journal of sorts,” he adds. “Whether something feels nonsensical or not, I like to use whatever I have. ‘Rolling Over’ feels like the state I am in at 39 years old; where am I going and how am I feeling. ‘I Don’t Wanna See You Cry’ feels like a surreal lyric. All of these surreal thoughts being spewed out… but in the end, I don’t want to hurt anyone. But life is weird. ‘Astral Days’ is a completely nonsensical dream. ‘Surreal World’ has to do with another dream, but also my fascination for surreal paintings and liminal spaces.”
Lyrics like “I’m always running in circles, outside, just to stay around” (from “Rolling Over”) as well as “I get in line at the sarcasm store, in a surreal world” and “A staircase bends right into the sea, in my surreal world” (from “Surreal World,” obviously), stand out as personal faves.
And then there’s that lyrical mashup of the first four words and the last four words, where Smith perhaps unintentionally and unexpectedly sums up how a lot of us are feeling: “Upside down and bewildered… in a surreal world.”
For Smith, Songs from the Plastic Ballroom is another look inside his world, taking his dream state’s fantasy and reality and offering it up to others. Why this EP takes on a musical vibe of phantom pop, cinematic bedroom rock, and surreal soul is not by intent, but a result of a prolific songwriter allowing the music to take him to the places in which he’ll soon invite the listener. That’s what storytellers do.
“I just sit and I write and I do,” Smith concludes. “I used to have this idea that everything has to make sense and I have to have a clear direction. I just don’t anymore. You throw some ingredients in a pot and see if it tastes good.”
Connect with Derek Smith:
SPOTIFY . BANDCAMP . APPLE . INSTAGRAM . FACEBOOK . YOUTUBE . LINKTREE
‘Songs from the Plastic Ballroom’ production credits:
Music and Lyrics by Derek Smith
Produced and engineered by Erik von Geldern and Don Schweihofer
at Berlin Audio Productions in Massachusetts
Derek Smith: Lead vocals
Erik von Geldern: Guitar, bass, and keys
Don Schweihofer: Drums and percussion
Artwork by Derek Smith and Gia Smith
Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures 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 guitarist Michael Strakus, and drummer Dalton DeLima.
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. The latest Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures album, Opus, arrived in November 2024, followed the next year by a pair of EPs in Temporary Circus: Act 1 and Temporary Circus: Act 2.
He enters 2026 with new single “Hollow Choir,” his 80th released song, plus June’s “Lady Bathory” and an August EP titled Songs from the Plastic Ballroom. Come along for the ride.
