Rolling Stones, “Hackney Diamonds.”

It is a wonderful feeling to know that your heroes are still who they claim to be. Especially these days. Hackney Diamonds by the Rolling Stones is proof that the band still has that essential spark that made it the world’s greatest rock band.

“Hackney diamonds” is slang for the shattered auto glass that glitter in the gutters in the London borough of Hackney, which Bay Area readers should understand all too well.

The Stones’ first new album of original music in nearly 18 years successfully fights the narrative that the world has outgrown the rockers. After the death of drummer Charlie Watts (who appears on a few of these tracks) last year, it was reasonable to worry they were heading in the direction of eternally touring the same 25 songs to an audience of nostalgia addicts. But they subvert this narrative.

Hackney Diamonds is fresh without being too experimental. It retains the Rolling Stones’ sound steeped in blues, guitar distortion and Mick Jagger’s barroom yowl. If anything, the album proves that a band has to keep reinventing itself to stay relevant.

The album starts with pop-friendly single “Angry,” distilled from whatever well of inspiration the Stones used to create hits like “Start Me Up.” A simple Keith Richards guitar riff introduces itself at the beginning—a chunky guitar sound still ripe with overdrive and distortion after all these years—and then forms the backbone of the verse.

Richards leans into his strong lead sensibilities for the guitar solo, sometimes following the melody of Jagger’s voice on the verse with identical notes on his guitar. Slow but powerful drumming backs them up. The Stones have never needed speed to feel powerful and this song finds a wonderful groove that could have fit on 1981’s Tattoo You.

“Get Close,” “Depending on You” and hard-rock love letter “Bite My Head Off“ are all perfect distillations of what fans loved about the the band’s earlier work. If you’re looking for a comfortable entry points, start with these. Fittingly, they’re the first four tracks on the album.

There are also clear attempts by the Rolling Stones to modernize their sound. “Whole Wide World” and “Mess it Up” are the Stones’ takes on ’80s dance rock that could play well on a dance floor. Both are wonderfully performed and fuzzed-out with enough guitar crunch to really make it theirs. The former doesn’t measure up to the rest of the album while the latter works better as a wonderful blend of their signature sound repackaged as a pop dance hit.

“Dreamy Skies” recalls the sonic makeup of “Wild Horses,” borrowing the blues harmonica, brass slides and acoustic guitars for a Western number in the middle of the album.

Hackney Diamonds takes some interesting risks with the subject matter on “Tell Me Straight.” On the surface, it’s a somber meditation on the ending of a relationship. But, it’s also a great metaphor for how the Rolling Stones see their music and their place in the music pantheon. The remarkably vulnerable lyrics contemplate how things should end, if things can last all that long, and if the best years are behind them.

“Is my future all in the past?” Richards asks.

“Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” featuring Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga, is a spiritual successor to what “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” might sound like had that one been on Tattoo You. It builds from a simple piano lick into a grandiose stadium rocker; a thick wall of layered instruments and soul-inspired vocals propels the verse to the chorus in a slow, powerful exaltation. Gaga’s belting, opposite Jagger’s, is iconic. It’s certainly the biggest-feeling song on the album.

Straight-up blues album closer “Rolling Stone Blues” is like the band’s statement of purpose. A lone lightly distorted guitar, harmonica yelp and Jagger’s vocals run through a tinny filter to imitate a buzzy barroom microphone.

Hackney Diamonds doesn’t pander to old guard, nor does it open the doors wide for new, younger fans. But the Rolling Stones are speaking as themselves, which is probably why the new album works so well.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly cited the lead vocalist of “Tell Me Straight.” The singer is Keith Richards.