His
bio maintains that Ilya Monosov was shaped by dissident Russian culture in the
late Soviet period and that this influence can be discerned in his music and
English-language lyrics. Collaborating with members of the acoustic, medieval
psychedelic group Fern Knight, he has shaped a moody album sung in a murmuring
bedroom voice. Brushed lightly with sadness, Monosov at his best recalls
Leonard Cohen on longing songs such as “My Dear,” “Winter Lullaby” and “The
Burning Flame.” The resemblance may be less a matter of Cohen’s influence on
Monosov than shared roots in Ashkenazi Jewish melody and introspection.