Leonard Cohen’s latest studio release, Old Ideas, is vintage Cohen in all the right ways. Tight, sparse arrangements; beautiful female back-up vocals; poetic lyrics delivered in Cohen’s inimitable style. Themes common throughout Leonard’s oeuvre pop up throughout. As expected, Biblical imagery is explored and interspersed with verses of lust and longing. “Going Home” opens the album with Cohen exploring his own legend, while “Show Me The Place” makes effective use of strength of Cohen’s aged voice, rather than exposing its weaknesses. “Banjo” is a fun little number that finds Leonard exploring the tiny rays of light that we often hold onto in this “dark infested sea” we are all wading through. The best part of this mix is, despite the very obvious title playing on the fact that this is really just another chapter in Cohen’s catalogue, is that none of these old ideas come off as trite or rehashed. If you’re an old convert, you’d be crazy not to have this one already. If you’re new to Cohen, this isn’t a bad place to start. Recommended if you’re anywhere in between, too. (Columbia, leonardcohen.com) Sheldon Birnie