Album Review ~ Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures ~ 'Songs From the Plastic Ballroom'

Boston jam rocker, Bandcamp mystifier, poetic crooner blaring his prose through groovy pedals and hip psychedelic beats, it seems Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures rocks and rolls beneath the stars of a different plane from the rest of us. The singer/songwriter intertwines smooth licks and gentle harmonies with a touch of a burning restless desire that breaks out in banging riffs. With a hint of funk and a dash of soul, Songs From the Plastic Ballroom breaks away from being just a mellow rock EP, but a sonic river of sounds that stir up a feeling of getting lost in the back section of a smoky used record store.

Hitting it off right with a bang, “Rolling Over,” stirs up a doo-wop melody, serene and flirtatious among less optimistic lyrics. Snappy percussion spices up the mood and if that’s not enough, soothing harmonies croon in the background all while Smith finds himself repeating “this is something I can’t explain…”

“I Don’t Wanna See You Cry,” drifts in with more mystique and blues. A groovy thumping beat holds the song intact while soulful croons dare to wander into their own lost world. A psychedelic rhythm can easily make one feel like their floating inside the warmth of a lava lamp. This bluesy track stirs with longing and woe, elevated into trance-like notes that only fuel up that fire of desire.

“You’ve got something I’m looking for…” begins “Astral Days,” in a relaxed tempo before the full band disrupts with a pop. The song tampers with a strong Sgt. Pepper meets John Mayer vibe in a whirlwind of back-and-forth tempos, colliding harmonies, and imaginative storytelling.

Chirpy riffs bring us to the EP’s final track, a funky little bop called “Surreal World.” Lucid sound effects add a wavy layer beneath the instrumentation which floats on until the end. Smith’s characteristic high notes glide through each line, and soon enough his vocals join the dreamy sea in faraway echoes as the song fades out.

Derek Smith doesn’t reinvent anything but instead awakens a style of jam rock that’s been dormant, stirring a musical shot of espresso into a subgenre that’s often put down as ‘sleepy’ and ‘overdone.’ Songs From the Plastic Ballroom utilizes pub riffs against dreamy gravity-defying tones keeping a mystical air about the band. If one digs deeper into the band’s discography, they’ll find a goldmine of groovy little EPs and creative full-fledged rock albums, which is merely a sample of the band’s many styles.

I’m Music Magazine Music Journalist Alice Kearney