The Rolling Stones have made their first album of original material in years, and it sounds like a band that still knows exactly what its job is. Hackney Diamonds is a 48-minute argument that the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world has not lost a step. It is not a nostalgia lap. It is a record that tries to reinvigorate itself in the rock’n’roll fountain of youth it helped create — and mostly succeeds.
From Angry to Dreamy Skies
The record opens with “Angry,” a single that does exactly what its title promises. The riff is pure Stones, the chorus lands hard, and it sets a pace the album mostly keeps. “Get Close” follows with a tighter, funkier groove, while “Depending on You” is a mid-tempo track that works in the moment, even if it does not linger. “Bite My Head Off” is the shortest burst of punk energy here, all three-and-a-half minutes of it, and it works.
“Whole Wide World” stretches the sound outward, and “Dreamy Skies” is the first real breather, a country-tinged ballad that lets the band ease off the throttle. These two tracks show range without breaking momentum.
The Middle Stretch
“Mess It Up” is a disco-tinged highlight, with a bassline that drives the whole thing forward. It is the kind of track that reminds you the Stones helped invent the idea of the groove as a song’s backbone. “Live by the Sword” follows, and it is the album’s most explicit nod to the past, with a guest appearance that carries real weight.
“Driving Me Too Hard” is a straightforward rocker, and “Tell Me Straight” strips things back to a near-acoustic plea. Neither reinvents anything, but both are solid enough to keep the record from sagging.
Sweet Sounds of Heaven
The centerpiece is “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a seven-and-a-half-minute epic that builds slowly, moves through gospel and blues, and gives the band room to sing with real fire. It is the track critics have singled out most, and it justifies the attention.
- “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” — the album’s peak
- “Live by the Sword” — the strongest nod to the past
- “Angry” — the opener that sets the tone
- “Mess It Up” — the groove highlight
- “Whole Wide World” — the range showcase
The album closes with “Rolling Stone Blues,” a cover that gives the band its name. It is a quiet, unadorned ending, and it lands with the weight of a full circle.
The Dissenters
Not everything works. The dissenters, most notably Pitchfork, called the record a tired retread, and there are moments — “Get Close” and “Depending on You” — that feel like the band coasting on muscle memory. That ambivalence is fair: “Depending on You” is pleasant but forgettable, a track that holds the album together without elevating it.
The highs are high enough to carry the whole thing. Variety called it their best since Tattoo You, a record decades older than this one. That comparison is not faint praise; it is the standard the Stones set for themselves, and they have met it.
Hackney Diamonds is a rock band doing what rock bands are supposed to do: making noise, having fun, and proving the doubters wrong.
- Angry3:47
- Get Close4:11
- Depending on You4:03
- Bite My Head Off3:32
- Whole Wide World3:58
- Dreamy Skies4:38
- Mess It Up4:04
- Live by the Sword3:59
- Driving Me Too Hard3:16
- Tell Me Straight2:57
- Sweet Sounds of Heaven7:23
- Rolling Stone Blues2:42
