Copyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air . TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Leonard Cohen has just released an album of new songs called "You Want It Darker." Cohen, who is now 82, writes frequently about the fragility of life. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TRAVELING LIGHT") UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Vocalizing). LEONARD COHEN: (Singing) I'm traveling light. It's au revoir. My once so bright. My fallen star. I'm running late. They'll close the bar. I used to play one mean guitar. I guess I'm just... KEN TUCKER, BYLINE: In a certain sense, Leonard Cohen's talents qualify him supremely to be a chronicler of oncoming death. His voice sounds as though it is emerging from a tomb, most often now a ghostly whisper, offering serious contemplation, wry observations and sly taunts to friends, fans and whoever may be waiting for him on the other side. The tendency of the melodies to fall into a stately cadence has never seemed more appropriate to the
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