Look, any album that creeps past the 60-minute mark is already flirting with fatigue. And in the lead‑up to Foreign Tongues, the Rolling Stones have teamed up with everyone from Marvel to FIFA to Roblox — so of course they've decided to toss every musical idea into the blender and hit "liquefy" for good measure. You don't have to look far to see how jumbled it could be: the cover art itself is a chaotic mash‑up of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, serving as a warning shot for the genre pile‑up waiting inside. Aside from the head-scratching marketing campaign that included a brief attempt to sell us on the Stones' not-so-secret alter ego, the Cockroaches, the biggest question is whether this record can stand beside its predecessor, the sharp, soulful fusion of rock, blues and swagger that was 2023's Hackney Diamonds, which actually strengthened the band's legacy instead of diluting it — a rare 21st-century feat. Thankfully, Foreign Tongues mostly snaps the gimmick into focus, though it takes a little patience before the vision actually lands.The Stones blast out of the gate with the heavy‑hitting blues crunch of "Rough and Twisted," then keep the momentum alive with "In the Stars" — an energetic, upbeat anthem for anyone feeling lost or lonely. "I feel a heavy hand / Tangling with my plans," Jagger laments, before tossing out a hazy bit of cosmic reassurance: "It's in the stars / It's our destiny."The rest of the record's first half is the easiest sell: a confident continuation of the sharp guitar lines and shout‑along choruses that powered Hackney Diamonds. Once again joining forces with producer Andrew Watt, the band keep their punchy, modern production front and centre. Previously released singles "Jealous Lover" and "Divine Intervention" pull you straight into the pocket, exploding with sticky hooks and head‑bobbing licks that prove they still knows how to build a progression that grabs you by the collar.The Stones' cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" is one of the album's more intriguing detours. Swapping her smoky seduction for harmonica‑driven, blues‑soaked bravado, Jagger tears into the song with a surprising amount of intention — the kind that respects the original without trying to mimic it. Across Foreign Tongues, the frontman sticks wisely to the lanes his voice still owns; six decades into fronting the world's most famous rock band, his tone holds up shockingly well — weathered, sure, but still elastic enough to sell every groove the Stones throw at him.Meanwhile, Richards once again steps up to the mic on "Some of Us." As with "Tell Me Straight" on Hackney Diamonds, his voice comes in weary and worn — sanded down by time, smoke and innumerable miles on the road. It doesn't land quite the same gut‑punch, but when he delivers, "You know that we can't have everything / Some of us are on our knees," the line hits with a quiet, lived‑in gravity that only Richards can pull off.Elsewhere, the Stones do an obligatory bit of self‑referential fan service. "Back in Your Life" clearly winks at "Wild Horses," echoing the same tender ache from the 1971 Sticky Fingers hit. Meanwhile, "Mr Charm" fires up a riff that unmistakably channels "Start Me Up," pulling a familiar spark from Tattoo You and repackaging it with contemporary bombast.And just like Hackney Diamonds, Foreign Tongues signs off with "Beautiful Delilah" — a twangy, country‑infused closer that tidies up the chaos much the way "Rolling Stone Blues" did last time around. While the back half of the album doesn't quite have the same snap as the front, there aren't enough misfires to make you wince or roll your eyes. It may lose a little steam, but it never fully derails.Overall, the album is an admirable addition to the Stones' already colossal rock 'n' roll canon. The fact that this band is still going strong after forming in 1962 — the same year the Cuban Missile Crisis peaked — is almost as wild as the LP's rollout. Foreign Tongues is good, even if it's overcrowded and occasionally over‑eager; a feat most bands would kill for. They may lean into their strengths a little too hard at times, but the Rolling Stones are still coming out on top.
Wavelength
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