While rock n’ roll is always changing and evolving, sometimes it’s just as refreshing to hear a band throwback to the sounds that built the foundation of the genre. Oakland’s The Helltones do this with a flair and panache that makes the songs on their latest album, Medusa, exquisitely timeless. Stirring up a pot of garage rock, doo-wop, lounge, R&B and soul, the group mines gold from the past while never losing track of modern hooks.
Since first covering the group’s raucous single “Every Time You Pick a Fight”, I’ve been following each single the band has released, admiring the wide stylistic berths between tracks, while still remaining cohesive around the retro aesthetic they embrace. There’s a laidback, groovy quality to songs like “Mike and Laura”, with its surfy guitars and biker bar crooning, and velvet Bossa nova-cum The Doors of “I Hear Her Singing”. The wild harmonies and slinking organ solo of the latter pair wickedly with lyrics like “we’re all lovers here, Cain and Abel, lay down their arms and hope for something more”.
There’s a sweetness to love songs like “When We’re Moving”, as frontman Darwin Siegaldoud sings “Seasons come and they go, but my lover never fades,” while a soothing saxophone flows in later. And things really strip down on the soul ballad “Nothing Compares to You”. But the group also knows when to have a good time, shuffling out a new wave rhythm on “Don’t Waste My Time”, and even getting a bit goofy on the novelty throwback “Black Star Pirate BBQ”, with its frenetic drums beat and funky rhythm.
For the most part, Medusa is an album you can blast at the beach, with breezy tunes like “Love Will Come” and “You Oughta Know” and surfy rave-ups “All My Heart” and “Jealousy” fitting for whatever vibe you’re going for. But what makes the album work is its heart; the band avoids pastiche by putting its heart on its sleeve. I’ll leave you with this wonderful line from “Intentions”; “I’ve been wandering half my life. Never quite got it right. Now all I want to do with you babe is spend the night.”
You can spend more than a night with this album when it drops on December 1st. Until then, listen to the pre-released tracks here.
The Indy Review 
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