Danny Cohen

about

With Shades Of Dorian Gray, Danny Cohen has crafted the musical equivalent of an accomplished painting. Equally cerebral and serendipitous, his third Anti- album is an eclectic song cycle that thrives, informs and rewards with each successive listen. One might assume from the title of the follow up to 2005’s We’re All Gunna Die, that Danny is an Oscar Wilde devotee. Not so. “He’s not one of my favorite writers,” Danny chuckles. “And I think The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of his worst books. I used the title because the songs were pointing me in that direction. I felt like there were a lot of gray tones in the themes and musical sounds, whereas my last record had earth tones. This one is more subtle and musty and I liked the play on words.” A vital and unconventional artist in his own right, Cohen is quick to point out the parallels between Wilde’s famous novel and his own work on this record. Just as the main character in that tome, Dorian, stays young while his portrait reflects age, the musician says his own art has yielded a similar result. “I’m not only young in spirit and childlike,” Cohen insists, “But I’m physically 20 years younger than my chronological age. It’s the music and the writing and the painting I do that absorbs the mental and experiential aging.” Case in point is the sweet and warm offering “Palm Of My Hand,” which serves as a gateway for the uninitiated with its uplifting musical feel and accessible tone. But it’s the set opener, “Prayer In The Blac