The Rolling Stones announce new album, ‘Foreign Tongues’

Inside the ornate Williamsburgh Savings Bank in Brooklyn, an architectural gem from the 1870s now serving as an upscale event space, the Rolling Stones created a buzz of anticipation among a select audience. The legendary rock band confirmed on Tuesday they will release a new album titled “Foreign Tongues” this summer, accompanied by a new single, “In The Stars.”

The exclusive announcement event drew journalists, VIPs, and celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Odessa A’zion, and Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn. Comedian Conan O’Brien hosted the gathering with his trademark wit, joking that after “years of toiling in obscurity,” this might finally be “their time” before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood took the stage.

“Foreign Tongues,” recorded over a month in London, will be released on July 10. It follows 2023’s “Hackney Diamonds,” which ended an 18-year drought of original material since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” The new album will feature a special posthumous appearance by drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, on what Jagger described as “a real fast, punk-rocker” track recorded during one of Watts’ final sessions in Los Angeles.

The album boasts an impressive roster of guest musicians, including Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. “I think Paul really wanted to jump in there,” Jagger noted at the event. “There was no intimidation. He wanted to play with the band.”

The Stones have again partnered with producer Andrew Watt, whose credits include Post Malone and Justin Bieber, as well as the band’s previous album. Watt received enthusiastic applause from the audience, including from his parents in attendance, with O’Brien comparing the “immediacy” of the new album to the Stones’ classic “Exile on Main Street.”

The band unveiled the album’s artwork, which Jagger playfully referred to as “Mr. Ugly.” Created by renowned artist Nathaniel Quinn, who was seated in the front row, the cover represents an amalgamation of the band members’ faces and symbolizes their collective journey.

Speculation about a new Stones project had been circulating for weeks. Mysterious posters appeared around London featuring “The Cockroaches,” a pseudonym the band has used previously, along with QR codes leading to a sign-up page connected to Universal Music, the Stones’ label. This cryptic marketing campaign eventually resulted in a limited white label vinyl release of the track “Rough and Twisted” under The Cockroaches name – the first hint of “Foreign Tongues” that only dedicated fans could decipher.

In the week before the official announcement, billboards displaying the band’s iconic tongue logo began appearing in major cities worldwide, featuring the phrase “Foreign Tongues” in various languages. Simultaneously, the Rolling Stones’ website was updated with surveillance-style footage showing the band in the studio.

Jagger described “Rough and Twisted” as “a Blues fantasy” and “fairly amorphous” with “unconscious ramblings” about a woman who “promises a lot of things” but leads you to “terrible places.” Wood mentioned using the same guitar he played on Faces’ 1971 track “Stay With Me” during the recording, adding, “It was so spontaneous. We even surprised ourselves with it.”

Richards emphasized the organic nature of their creative process: “When you get in the studio, and the guys get together, and you lay out a track, an idea, and you let it take off from there – you can’t plan all of this stuff. You kind of just have to follow it and hope you come out the other end.”

NBC announced that “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” will host the surviving Stones members across three nights this month, with Jagger appearing Wednesday, Richards on Thursday, and Wood on May 13. While details about potential performances remain unconfirmed, Jagger expressed enthusiasm about possibly touring with the new material, telling the Associated Press, “I would love to tour the album. I absolutely would love to. I hope to do it as soon as that’s possible.”

The announcement represents another milestone for the Rolling Stones, who continue to defy expectations with new music and creative energy well into their sixth decade as a band, reinforcing their status as one of rock music’s most enduring institutions.