The two hundred and twenty-ninth album: Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate

I've covered enough folk from this era before, between Bob Dylan and other contemporary artists. From that, I know that it's a hit and miss genre for me, sometimes dependent on my mood at the time as so much of it relies on hitting that emotional core. Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate hits an odd spot for me in that, as it has some lyrics that connect with me, but then adds some flourishes that don't feel quite right to me, with Diamonds in the Mine feeling really off for me there. Perhaps it's the vocals: Leonard Cohen's gravel suits some songs, but not all, and right now it feels like it goes between pulling me in on the smaller one and pushing me away when it's bigger. Folk, more than anything, thrives on that emotional connection, and today it felt like it fluctuated so much that I couldn't decide where the album fell.