He describes the song to Rolling Stone as a “trailer” for his upcoming album Oh Yeah?
Fresh off his Rolling Stone cover, Steve Lacy has shared his first new single in three years, “Nice Shoes.” He announced the single on his Instagram page with a link to a new website, www.wearesteve.net where he’s also selling merch featuring the Oh Yeah cover art.
“The song “Nice Shoes” features a rolling breakbeat as Lacy muses on romance, sexual fluidity, and everything in between before cutting into his classic guitar-driven melody towards the song’s end. The lyrics bounce between absurdist (“If I had a dollar for the friends I would fuck, I could buy a pair of really nice shoes”) and insightful (“careful how you spend your time, it adds up”). He muses on “romantic boners,” as he describes it to Rolling Stone in his cover story, as well as the sometimes subtle nature of melancholy. “Crazy how you could be sad and not notice,” he sings. “All I need is my guitar and serotonin.”
In an Instagram post announcing the single, he credits producer Nightfeelings and Matthew Castellanos for writing and production help. He described the track as a “trailer” for his upcoming album Oh Yeah, set to arrive in the near future. The album follows 2022’s Gemini Rights, which featured the chart-topping hit “Bad Habit,” and earned Lacy a nomination for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2023 Grammys. Gemini Rights would win the award for Best Progressive R&B Album.
