Bad Bubble’s “Cozy Grey Shoes” is an enjoyably understated indie electro-pop romp that is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly “hey look at me, I’m so special” world. While most of its peers rely heavily on production trickery to get the point across, “Cozy Grey Shoes” relies more on atmospheric textures and a deceptively chill vibe to reach the heights it does.
Upon first listen, the immediate attention-grabber lies in the reverb-drenched synth pads that very nearly blend in with the equally spacy vocals; rather than getting lost in the mix (or even worse, begin interfering with each other, the two disparate elements instead compliment each other perfectly. Indeed, the interplay between the vocals and the track is something I quite loved; I was reminded in a way of a mix of late-period Roxy Music and Tame Impala, in the best possible way. The production for the most part is top-notch; my only (extremely slight) complaint lies with the fact the drum machine is a bit lost in the mix. If it had been brought up just a tad bit, we might have had total sonic perfection, instead of “merely” sounding great.
Although there’s not a lot of melodic variation, this is the rare case of a song that doesn’t need it; indeed its spartan nature enhances rather than diminishes the vibe. Lyrically, we have another winner…the lyric “I’d find my way through the open market competition & attempt to fake the confidence to hold your hand” is, quite frankly, absolutely brilliant. I can imagine a lot of people (myself included) can relate to this song in one form or another.
“Cozy Grey Shoes” is definitely an understated gem featuring an absolutely brilliant (read: classy) production style married to ethereal vocals and clever lyrics. If you like atmospheric songs, you’re absolutely going to love this….I sure did.
Listen to "Cozy Grey Shoes" on Spotify here -
You can check out Badbubble’s website here: