Music

new music: decora’s ‘bread and oats’ is full of compelling left turns (featuring corey glover of living colour) #soundcheck

July 21, 2015

Corey Glover has officially reached the “can do whatever he bloody well pleases” part of his career. So when he pops up on two tracks on indie rapper and producer Decora’s latest record Bread and Oats, its fitting that neither should be the most poppy or even accessible. Instead these high profile guest contributions highlight Decora’s commitment to skirting expectations and pushing boundaries. It’s that refusal to play by the rules that makes Bread and Oats such a compelling record.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

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“Something” is the standout cut on the record—notably devoid of guest spots—the minimal breakbeat production looks simultaneously backwards and forwards, nodding to Golden Age production, while Decora name checks social activists. While “Touch the Sky” uses a hook courtesy of Ruby Stinson for the most radio-single worthy cut. “Bionic Bounce” shines, marrying a club-bound beat to Decora’s most socially conscious lyrics. “They got the money / but the power’s in the people.”

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By the time “Nah Mean” hits, Decora’s experimental streak begins to show. Psychedelic beats skitter and dissolve in stereo. Then we come to Corey Glover’s mind-expanding contributions. “Nantucket” is a break-up track with Glover’s “I met this girl from Nantucket / She will electrify your mind” phasing in and out over the bird calls and flutes. “Beautiful Bitch” is a 7 minute epic, with Corey Glover intoning “why you such a beautiful bitch” over a spaced instrumental reminiscent of Mozart by way of Nine Inch Nails. By the end of 7 minutes, the words have lost all literal meaning, and become this incredible statement on loneliness in Glover’s inimitable delivery.

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The record heads back into known space with the chilled out “Road Trip,” and the activist hip-hop of “Flowers.” The classic production on “Flowers” gets a lot of mileage out of some glitch synths. “equal rights for one another is what I’m manifesting / but I still have the same questions / Where have the flowers gone?” When Decora missteps on the post-punk “Long Way Home,” it’s still a compelling left-turn. Decora’s sonic adventurousness and lyrical depth buy a lot of good will to follow him down his deepest rabbit holes. He ends the record with the ironically triumphant “Defeat.” Decora has set a monumental task before himself: to tie together a hundred disparate influences and ideas into one cohesive whole, but he does it remarkably on Bread and Oats. Definitely check this one out.

https://www.facebook.com/decora.poet

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