I’ve never liked the word "Adult" referred to music genres, although I’m a big fan of some artists (mostly songwriters) who are often labelled that way. I’ve always though: "who the heck wants to be described as somebody writing songs for adults?" The concept certainly isn’t very popular among the "young" Brooklyn bands, since pretty much all of them seem focused on making music for crowds ranging from the very young to (quoting Leonard Cohen) the "almost young." Sadly though, a lot of young musicians aren’t musicians anymore past their 30s, and a fair amount of the best popular music so far has been created by fully grown adults, who reached their artistic maturity after just OK early albums.
We should then pay more attention to artists like New Jersey pianist Luke Elliot, who isn’t old at all, but whose music references the work of powerful, "adult" artists like Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. His raw, bluesy influenced compositions have the thoughtfulness of an old soul, the stubborn energy of those who never give up, and the character of somebody who’s learned a lot of lessons in life.
Luke’s upcoming EP "Provisions" is due out on 5/6/14, stream preview single "Virginia below, and see him live on March 28 at the Bowery Electric and on April 19th at Rockwood Music Hall.