Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker
Beloved Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen has had a long and illustrious career. The 82-year-old returns with his 14th full-length study album, and possibly a hint at retirement. You Want It Darker is bleak and grim in tone, and exquisite in its execution. Cohen doesn’t shy away from the inevitable: death. The record plays out like he’s preparing himself for it, as he gets his affairs in order. His trademark hushed and low growl is as dark as ever, and truly suits the undercurrent of the music. The arrangements here are carefully constructed, with each production and instrument choice having a precise and integral place. Although it is stylistically eclectic and layered, it is still quite sparse and intimate. The record opens with the title track “You Want It Darker,” a grooving synth-bass driven hymnal that almost sarcastically begs to plunge further into the abyss. Complete with a repeated[...]