Featuring: Paul McCartney, Robert Smith and a posthumous contribution from Charlie Watts. You can also hear the new single here.
The Rolling Stones have officially announced their new studio album “Foreign Tongues”. The release is scheduled for July 10th via Polydor Records in collaboration with Universal Music Group.
It is the band’s first new material since the award-winning “Hackney Diamonds”, which was released in 2023.
Lead single “In the Stars” as the first harbinger
The album opens with the single “In the Stars”, which will be released digitally on May 5th; a physical release will follow on May 15th.
The Stones had already attracted attention in advance with an unusual campaign: under the alias The Cockroaches, they released the song “Rough and Twisted” in a limited white label edition exclusively on vinyl. The release quickly circulated among collectors and fueled speculation about the new album’s stylistic direction.
Compact creation in London
According to the press release, “Foreign Tongues” was created in less than a month at Metropolis Studios in west London. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood worked again with producer Andrew Watt, who had already supervised “Hackney Diamonds”.
Jagger describes the sessions as “intense and focused,” while Richards speaks of a “month of concentrated energy.” According to Wood, many tracks were created in the first take.
Guest contributions and posthumous recordings
In addition to the core members, long-time companions such as Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford and Steve Jordan also took part. Particularly noteworthy is a contribution by Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, and is based on one of his last studio sessions.
Additionally, the album brings together a number of prominent guests including Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Robert Smith and Chad Smith.
Between tradition and experiment
According to the band, “Foreign Tongues” follows on from its predecessor in terms of content and sound, but at the same time takes new paths. First impressions suggest a mix of classic Stones sound and more experimental elements, which were already hinted at in “Rough and Twisted”.
Artwork by Nathaniel Mary Quinn
The album cover is by American artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn. He described the collaboration as an “artistic honor” and a dialogue with “one of the most enduring forces in cultural history.”
With “Foreign Tongues”, the Rolling Stones follow up less than three years after their last album – and show once again that they remain productive and willing to experiment even after decades in the business.
