Robbie Robertson

Sinematic

uMC The Band leader’s Gothic gangsta album.

The tenth instalment in Robertson’s curiously misshapen solo career takes cues from his long history with film director Martin Scorsese, hence the crass title pun. Spiky guitars, itchy rhythms and gnarled electro blues in spacey atmospheres with violent scenarios predominate. Van Morrison guests on the standout lead track I Hear You Paint Houses, from Scorsese’s upcoming film The Irishman.

DJ Howie B, Glen Hansard and Citizen Cope are also on hand,

but Robertson’s gauche lyrics, as on the Oriental voodoo of Shanghai Blues and obligatory requiem for The Band Once Were Brothers are hard to take. Additionally, his mannered yet characterless lead vocal is a recurring weak link in the fug.

A muddled attempt to signal contemporary relevance, as The Band’s classic Big Pink debut turns 50, Sinematic is an ungainly segue to Robertson’s legacy. ■■■■■■■■■■