Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker

Leonard Cohen
You Want it Darker
2016
Spotify

Most people know Leonard Cohen because of "Hallelujah", pure and simple. It is a song that is so connected with him that as versions come and go we always fall back to the best. What a lot of people don't know is hopefulness has never really been Cohen's bag. For every "Suzanne" there are 10 songs full of misery and a longing for what's next. Unlike Bowie or Johnny Cash who seemed to only present their deaths to us at the very end, Cohen has been toying with the idea from the very beginning. Now at 82, having seemingly defied the odds by just getting this far. "Leaving the Table" has the most clear and defined statements about death and what it is we leave behind. Where Cohen's older work seemed to be more grounded in the experiential, the delights of living life, now He is looking back at the metaphysical aspects of it all. While Cohen knows his life is coming to an end throughout the album he still holds on to the simple pleasures that He's known throughout his life. "Traveling Light" which swirls almost like some kind of dance just has Cohen going through his life and looking at the moments when toting around heavy baggage seemed so pointless now. There is very little done to make the listener feel comfortable, or even the intellectual equal of Cohen. He doesn't really care if you don't get what He is saying, or if you can move to it, it is more important that He speaks his mind and gets these thoughts in to the world.

There is a heavy disdain for anything spiritual at this point in his life, which of course is usually the opposite. Wrapped up in the clearly gospel influenced music are sentiments that are very much moving in another direction. On "Treaty" Cohen almost seeks to bargain with god or make a treaty at the end of his life, but still really never wants to recognize that god is even real. At just under 40 minutes the album really cooks and before you know it passes away. Each track is distinct but does follow a very similar formula of Cohen's slow "singing" wrapped up in a very tranquil emotionally charged song. The really surprise and real shock comes from his words because the music is that of an old person, He is far to old to start singing over some trap beats or getting into the DJ scene. This is another example of an artist giving us a peek into their death, but it seems despite all his bluster Cohen is still afraid to go at the end of the day. He doesn't seem afraid, and He doesn't seem sad but it does feel like perhaps despite it all Leonard Cohen really liked this life, and the people that made life possible for him.

8.0 out of 10