“This is your life / Don’t let it just happen to you”. That
is how Hannah Cohen opens her album Welcome Home, pleading with us, delivering
a straightforward lesson. The word “life” sweetly stretched out, allowed to
linger in the air.
This album was written during a time of transition, as Cohen
was taking the radical decision to leave the bustle of New York City for the
rustic environs of Woodstock, NY. The
album – Cohen’s 3rd – was released in April (I’m a little behind the
curve). At the time of release, she described the process of writing the first
single and opening track, “This is Your Life”:
“It was the beginning of September and NYC was
in the midst of a big heat wave. I was staying with my partner
at the time and had locked myself in the bathroom to work on this song. It was
very early in the morning, the air conditioner was buzzing away. At the time we
were searching for our first apartment together, and had seen about 27
apartments in person. All were gross or out of our price range. It was
definitely a catalyst for wanting to move out of the city – and it all came
rushing at me. I really needed a change. Locked in a boiling hot bathroom, playing
my nylon-string guitar, I realized that this is it… my life is crazy, it’s time
to make a big move.”
Out of this revelation came an album that is marked by
honesty and almost pastoral clarity. You get the sense that Cohen has arrived
at some important lessons and is distilling them here, both for herself and for
us. They perhaps sound simple, but as Cohen knows – hell, as we all know - they
take a while to grasp and identify with. Through the dreamy pop production,
well-executed by her partner Sam Owens, you can still make out the charming
tones of the old nylon-stringed guitar she used to compose many of the songs. This
is an album that will cause you to feel warm and hopeful, even as it causes you
to examine your own path.
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