BOSTON, Mass. [April 19, 2024] -- Rock and roll is not dead. It was merely sleeping in order to reclaim its dreams.

And here to awaken it from its lengthy slumber comes “White Spade Symphony,” the decadent and ambitious new single from Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, set for release on Friday, April 19.

The psychedelic and soaring “White Spade Symphony” finds the Boston alt-rock project making good on a promise of grand ambition, acting as a throwback track to a time when music had a transformative effect on the listener. The Salvador Dali-inspired single artwork depicts a wide-open, almost mystical landscape that’s both inviting and stirring; it sets up a hypnotic playground of dreams and imagination that are at play as the towering track unfolds.

Smith says “White Spade Symphony” is about both “everything and nothing,” but also stops just short of steering the track’s message into a definable category. The records that shaped the Massachusetts songwriter as a child rarely came with any directive beyond the liner notes, and so he urges those who take the journey with “White Spade Symphony” to allow room for their own relatable impression.

“One can argue that the song is trying to convey some deep meaning about isolation and nihilism,” Smith notes. “Or you can simply listen to it as a composed piece of music with no real message. ‘White Spade’ could be a play on words in relation to a ‘black sheep’ or an ‘outcast’ or it could just be random. I will let the user decide whatever they want. Whatever they want it to be. I am becoming more infatuated with the prospect of writing riddles and uncertain meanings. I’ve never been a huge fan of songs that just come out and tell you what is going on, unless that’s the point of the song. Being cryptic is more fun.”

Few bands are having as much fun these days as Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures. After forming roughly a decade ago, the Cosmic Vultures developed a reputation around New England for their electric live show and eclectic blend of genre-spanning 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 before last October’s well-received and anthemic “Black Angel” single, all featuring members of the band, around the same time 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, and the first offering was a January’s celestial cruise through an alt-rock galaxy called “Waiting.” Now they’re building on the momentum, and “White Spade Symphony” delivers the project to previously-unknown heights. But it also follows a central line of thought that permeates through the band’s music, even if those elements are not so clearly visible on the surface.

“Human emotions. The internal and eternal struggle. Who and why are we? Why are we so fucking flawed?” Smith asks. “We make the same mistakes over and over. We wait for opportunities; we don’t grab them. We are weak, sick and scared. Engulfed by trepidation and depression. As I sing here, ‘My world is black and gray, and I don’t know what to say’.”

“White Spade Symphony” first surfaced around 2017, for the band’s debut EP Black and White. But as Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures have evolved, so has the song – which has become a true live favorite for the band. With a renewed energy and focus, Smith decided to give it the polish and treatment it deserves, taking it to trusted producer Dave Minehan and extracting that expansive, engaging sonic landscape in the studio of Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham.

“We just wanted to make sure this song had a big studio sound,” Smith admits. “There is nothing tricky about this song, it’s straightforward as far as the chord structure goes. We are heading toward a more melodic and harmonic sound. Things can sound epic and still have some sugar added for flavor. When we layered the harmonies in the song, I had a musical boner. I thought, ‘I want to make love to this song under a pale moonlight while eating cake frosting’.”

What’s also tasty is the guitar solo from guitarist Michael Strakus, who lets it rip with a furious abandon before the song kicks back in and reaches a remarkable cruising altitude. As the rhythm section of bassist Steve Constantino and drummer Dalton DeLima keep the song held together and moving down the line, Strakus’ guitar solo rockets it out into the stratosphere.

“I told Strakus to imagine this was the last guitar solo he would ever play in his entire life – ‘This is the final one you will leave this world with’. I wanted the most unhinged guitar solo to capture the feeling of this song. Because the song is unhappy and angry, but it’s also beautiful and majestic,” Smith reveals. “I needed him to capture every emotion this song has in its belly and slay the dragon. I watched him perform this in the studio and let’s just say there are few moments in life that truly stay with you. This was one of them. That blood-stained guitar shall never be cleaned.”

And neither shall “White Spade Symphony” presented breathlessly to the masses as a rock and roll sermon with a rich texture and layered meaning, spitting in the face of the TikTok generation and our collectively short attention spans. The aforementioned Dali-inspired art provides a visual compass.

“All the illusions and fears that we live with every day, just sitting on a canvas staring you in the eye,” Smith says. “I find chaos and destruction in the most beautiful things. It just depends on how your mind forces you to interpret something. It’s romantic to live with the fact that we will never understand our minds and what they are capable of.”

And once that mind is awake, much like rock and roll, where to go from there is open to a spectrum of possibility. Smith holds a compass, and for him and the band’s growing tribe, it all leads back to a familiar terrain, one soundtracked by Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures.

“Enter the Vulture Universe and take in our catalog,” Smith concludes. “It’s vast and eclectic. Lift our skirt and see what we have to offer you.”

Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures are:

Derek Smith: Lead vocals, rhythm acoustic guitar, piano

Michael Strakus: Backing vocals, rhythm and lead electric guitar

Steve Constantino: Bass

Dalton DeLima: Drums

‘White Spade Symphony’ single artwork:

Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures embrace a ‘White Spade Symphony’ ~ Boston alt-rock band aims for the high heavens with an anthemic and psychedelic new single out Friday, April 19

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