Michael Cohen Turns Heartbreak into Art on Compelling Debut Album Living in Dadeland

Living in Dadeland is the utterly beautiful debut album by Michael Cohen, a Miami and D.C.-based singer/songwriter whose influences range from Bob Dylan and The Beatles to lush 70s pop and modern indie folk. It's a pretty unique mix - but one that gives Living in Dadeland a whole lot of warmth, soul, and character.

A deeply personal eleven-track offering that traces the arc of a relationship through its highs, lows, and everything in between, Michael's debut record is so much more than a collection of songs about heartbreak. Admittedly, I'm always wary of saying things like that because it can sound like a cliché, but in this case, I think it genuinely fits.

Prelude South: Living in Dadeland begins proceedings. Along with its successor, Prelude North: The Other Side of Winter, the two opening tunes provide a sonically delicate and vulnerable beginning to proceedings.

The hugely upbeat Boyfriend then makes its bouncy entrance, wonderfully capturing the warmth and security of a joyous relationship, whereas Save My Love Tonight focuses on a similar theme, but takes a very different musical approach.

"When someone breaks your heart, make art," says Michael. It's that philosophy that guided the artist through the record's creation - a record that represents the most absorbing creative pursuit of his life so far. Truly genius stuff!

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