A lot of different things can be read into the Walkmen's decision to cover four Leonard Cohen songs for a Daytrotter session that went up today. It could be that Cohen is just the most recent influence the band is cycling through, after sounding very Dylan-esque on A Hundred Miles Off and then completely remaking the Harry Nilsson-sung, John Lennon-produced Pussy Cats. It could be the band's tribute to Cohen's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Or it could just be completely random. That's the view Walkmen lead singer Hamilton Leithauser seems to endorse in a note that accompanies the session. "We decided to do Leonard Cohen songs rather than our own," he writes. "Honestly I don't know why but it sounded fun to all of us." And the songs sound pretty good to this listener, who has always been a huge Cohen aficionado. Turns out Leithauser does Cohen's signature baritone very well. The Walkmen cover three selections from Songs From a Room - "The Old Revolution," "Lady Midnight," and "Tonight Will be Fine" - as well as the older folk staple "Passin' Through" that Cohen covered on Live Songs. Super duper extra bonus points for leaving "Hallelujah" alone. Another cover of that song is wholly unnecessary at this point.