The Rolling Stones' latest album, "Foreign Tongues," released in July 2026, has garnered significant critical attention, with reviewers highlighting the band's enduring musical energy despite their septuagenarian and octogenarian ages. Mick Jagger's vocals, even as he approaches 83, are noted for their potency, including a "fierce falsetto" on tracks like "Jealous Lover." Keith Richards matches this intensity on guitar and delivers a poignant lead vocal on "Some of Us." Ronnie Wood's guitar work is also praised, with Jagger calling out his name during a searing solo on "Back in Your Life." The album is seen as building upon the creative momentum from their 2023 release, "Hackney Diamonds."
"Foreign Tongues" delves into strong social and political commentary, particularly concerning the United States. "Ringing Hollow" is described as a "kiss-off letter" to America from Jagger and Richards, expressing dismay over its "authoritarian tilt, failed promises," and the presence of "scoundrels trying to whip the crowd." This song, fashioned as an "old-timey honky-tonk heartbreaker," evokes the band's early '70s collaborations with Gram Parsons and features lyrics lamenting "Lady Liberty is wearing a frown" and critiquing societal issues with lines like "So pass around the fenty/Pass around the coke." The album's title itself references a desire to learn "all those foreign tongues" as Jagger turns down tyranny in "Rough and Twisted."
Jagger's observations extend to critiques of wealth and power, as heard on "Divine Intervention" where he describes "billionaires all scuttling, scrambling to their bolt holes in the sky." He also targets specific figures, rebuking "mad Elon Musk" on "Mr. Charm" and decrying "autocrats" who "seem to be breeding like a swarm of dirty rats with their missiles on parade" on "Covered in You." Reviewers suggest Jagger, a longtime resident of New York City, uses his perspective to critique the current state of America, desiring a return to a more unified and patchworked nation rather than the current "grimy" reality. The album's themes advocate for togetherness in various contexts, from the band itself to romantic and national relationships. The album reportedly emerged from leftover material from their 2023 comeback, "Hackney Diamonds," and continues their collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, marking the first time the band has released two albums in the same decade since the 1990s.
