With an iconoclastic artist like Leonard Cohen, a new album is almost irrelevant. Possessing a lengthy discography of records filled with the kind of religious allegory and literary lyricism that long ago established him as rock & roll’s de facto poet laureate, Cohen has nothing left to prove. And we all know that records no longer make money. Yet, I suspect Cohen enjoys the act of creation, and fortunately for us, the results on Popular Problems (Columbia Records) are enjoyable for the listener as well.

As on his other releases from this century, Cohen favors a minimal backing consistently mostly of keys and the contributions of his backup singers. As such, the record’s focal point is (as it should be) on Cohen and the words he emits. Having recently turned 80 years-old, Cohen’s voice has grown gruff, seemingly embodying the world-weariness so often represented in his songs. It suits him well, though, and his delivery, as much spoken as it is sung, further emphasizes his image as the wizened old bard. This approach works best on “Almost Like the Blues,” which blends some simple conga beats, piano, and bass over which Cohen waxes self-referentially. Elsewhere, “Did I Ever Love You” is a study in contrasts, with Cohen’s voice grizzled to an almost Tom Waits–like level and juxtaposed with an acoustic guitar delivering lilting pop hooks and his backing vocalists singing sweetly about blossoming lemon trees and such. The record features some subtle eclecticism—“Nevermind,” in particular, folds in some Middle Eastern influences—and as such is probably Cohen’s most divergent since Death of a Ladies’ Man. It is far more successful, though, and reveals that he still has plenty of new ideas in need of being immortalized on wax.