Maybe Leonard Cohen wasn,t the best comparison, Tom Waits is a better one. I really liked Lucinda's Car Wheels on a gravel road, and I thought that Steve Earl was a big influence on her. He sounds original, I can hear his mother asking him what he did with the money she gave him for singing lessons though. It sounds like he's been around for a while from what you guys are saying and I'll have to check his those albums that was mentioned.
Gurf Morlix
I recently heard some of his songs and he reminded me of Leonard Cohen only better, more compelling. At first thought it sounded like raw in the gutter type music, but the songs just draw you in.