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10.0
91143
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
Cohen courts what is most uncomfortable in the human condition and transforms that terrifying unease into something of great beauty
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10.0
91144
10.0 |
Mojo
This is one of his most intense albums. It feels personal too. Print edition only
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10.0
91148
10.0 |
The Guardian
Throughout, he sounds wise and honest, and – despite the occasional lyrical protestations of weariness – full of life
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10.0
91151
10.0 |
The Irish Times
It would be wrong to think these nine tracks morbid or depressing; Cohen’s humanity shines throughout
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10.0
91186
10.0 |
Evening Standard
Leonard Cohen could order a breakfast burrito and his particular choice of words would impart more truth and profundity than most songwriters manage in their entire careers
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10.0
91187
10.0 |
The FT
The album’s graceful blend of soul, doo-wop and European folk traditions resists defeat
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10.0
91232
10.0 |
The Observer
This is an album of killer couplets, even the bleakest delivered with a half-smile
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9.5
91281
9.5 |
Paste Magazine
May contain the best music he has created since Various Positions came out in 1984
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9.1
91141
9.1 |
Consequence Of Sound
The legendary singer's latest prepares us for his departure, but comes nowhere near exhausting his vitality
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9.0
91142
9.0 |
The Music
He recently told The New Yorker that he's "ready to die" and that's the overwhelming mood on You Want It Darker
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9.0
91240
9.0 |
PopMatters
What You Want It Darker accomplishes isn’t just powerful instrumentation in minimalism, or strong poeticism, but that of an artist baring their soul, and the sharing of sincere truth
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9.0
91145
9.0 |
Uncut
He leavens what could've been a bleak sayonara to this mortal coil with bone dry quips
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9.0
91473
9.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Cohen has remained a beacon of inspirational light in a world gradually consumed by vile intolerance and abhorrent characters, but through his music we can all join him in keeping the darkness at bay for as long as we possibly can
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9.0
91704
9.0 |
musicOMH
They confront the inevitable end that informs our deepest fears, yet they also very much serve as a healing balm
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8.5
91711
8.5 |
The Quietus
As with 2014’s Popular Problems, it’s obvious his powers hadn’t been dimmed by time; that this album sounds like such a final farewell that it’s difficult to see where he’d have gone next; that, he’d probably have still pulled it off, because he usually did
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8.5
91238
8.5 |
Pitchfork
Feels like a pristine, piously crafted last testament, the informed conclusion of a lifetime of inquiry
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8.3
91158
8.3 |
A.V. Club
He’s choosing to examine his life (and life’s work) rather than ponder the abyss. That ensures You Want It Darker doesn’t feel like an ending, as much as it feels like one more chapter in Cohen’s songbook
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8.0
91163
8.0 |
All Music
Despite his long list of gripes, sins, and losses, Cohen's instinctive opening to whatever light remains prevails on You Want It Darker. When all contradictions are nakedly exposed in truth, all one can do is embrace them and wish for the best. Brilliant
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8.0
91168
8.0 |
Exclaim
A strong record, with an even stronger message
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8.0
91146
8.0 |
Q
Deeply ambiguous yet wittily epigrammatic, You Want It Darker is all one might want from a final testament, short of cosy reassurance. Print edition only
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8.0
91147
8.0 |
The Independent
Mostly produced by the singer’s son Adam, You Want It Darker finds Cohen as frustrated and regretful as any 82-year-old has a right to be, railing variously against the world, his own weakness and god
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8.0
91967
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
A succinct journey into the psyche of a man who knows his career is at an end, but that isn’t going to stop him going out on a high
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8.0
91282
8.0 |
NOW
You Want It Darker is frightening, aching and, finally, sad. But, on this gorgeous, essential record, the sadness is illuminated. It glows
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8.0
91244
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
You Want It Darker is the sound of a master soundtracking his exit, with advice for those left behind
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8.0
91263
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
If You Want It Dark stands as his final statement then it’s the best one we could hope for
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7.0
91242
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
The culmination of 50 years of moody, often melancholic music
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