Adam Cohen

I feel bad for Adam Cohen. Almost every review or article about his musical career starts off by mentioning that he is the son of the legendary Leonard Cohen. Not only does it heighten expectations about his musical abilities, it also sets up the inevitable comparisons, which Adam does fare particularly well with. His second album, Melancolista, is sung in French and is very easy to listen to. Almost too easy, because the entire record drifts by almost unnoticed, something that is in part due to the glossy production that puts the whole affair into AOR territory. Even an attempt to hearken back to the days of Jane Birken and Serge Gainsbourg, via a duet with French actress Virginie Ledoyen, doesn’t have the desired effect. It is particularly telling that the two best songs are the ones that Cohen co-wrote with Roger Tabra. Perhaps it is his age and inexperience, but there’s really nothing about Melancolista that gives any real clues about his musical heritage. While Adam Cohen is a competent musician, he is not his father’s son when it comes to songwriting.