Not the collab anyone expected – but it’s the one everyone’s waiting to hear
Tell me if I’m wrong – but The Rolling Stones have locked in their 25th studio album Foreign Tongues, due July 10, and the main talking point is pretty straightforward: Robert Smith is on it.
It’s not an obvious crossover. The Stones tend to stay in their lane – blues rock, a bit of looseness – while Smith’s style leans more inward and atmospheric. That contrast is exactly why people are paying attention.
From what Mick Jagger has said, the sessions at Metropolis Studios in London weren’t casual. “It was very intense,” he said, describing the process as “full of passion.” It lines up with what Keith Richards has hinted at too – a more “concentrated” feel across the record, shaped by being back in London.
The album follows on pretty quickly from Hackney Diamonds, which suggests they’re not stretching this out – just getting back in, recording, and moving.
The guest list is stacked but not overcooked: Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood and Chad Smith all feature, alongside posthumous drum recordings from Charlie Watts.
Early singles ‘In The Stars’ and ‘Rough and Twisted’ sit pretty comfortably where you’d expect – nothing too left-field. Which is why the Smith feature is getting most of the attention.
And tbh – that’s the track I’m holding out for.
Foreign Tongues lands July 10, with 14 tracks in total, and shapes up as a direct follow-on from Hackney Diamonds. Full collaborator list: Robert Smith, Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood and Chad Smith, plus archival contributions from Charlie Watts.
If you want a sense of where it’s sitting so far, ‘In The Stars’ is already out – worth a listen while we wait to hear how that Smith cut actually lands.
