Review: Leonard Cohen’s posthumous album centers on poetry

• Leonard Cohen’s last album, released just weeks before he passed in 2016, was “You Want It Darker,” which had a sense of finality that made it a fine conclusion to his brilliant musical career. “Thanks for the Dance,” on the other hand, seems to bring down the curtain on Cohen’s parallel universe, the poetry he started to publish long before he began making records. Understated exceptions are the title track and a few lines here and there, but Cohen doesn’t really sing, not that his resonant voice needs a melody to convey the experience, depth, humor, horror and beauty of his lyrics.