Like a Man

iTunes Review

Adam Cohen no longer shies from comparisons to his father, Leonard Cohen. Like a Man opens with the beautiful "Out of Bed," a tune with simple acoustic guitar and careful orchestration that sounds like a lost track from his father's 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Father and son also share a producer in Patrick Leonard, who handled many of the duties on the elder Cohen's Old Ideas. While such stylistic proximity might have created genuine anxiety in a younger man (and it did when one considers how far Adam strayed from the family trademark with The Low Millions), Adam, now 39, takes the similarities in stride and explores the natural inclinations of his genetic code. The lyrics are smart and heartfelt, while the music is small but detailed. Melodies are reined in until they reach the biblical heft of his father's touch. The title track evokes the dour countenance of dear old dad. "Sweet Dominique" has a romantic flair for the spiritual and the flesh. The tradition has been handed down through the generations, and it continues to make deep inroads in the elusive beauty that each musician and poet forever chases.