Album Review: Foreign Tongues
ALBUM – Foreign Tongues
ARTIST – The Rolling Stones
LABEL – Polydor Records
GRADE – B+
Although I am often disappointed by new releases from classic, iconic bands or artists, I found myself enjoying this new album by the Rolling Stones.
Following their latest release in 2023, Hackney Diamonds, and their second collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, I believe the essence of the Rolling Stones is there—perhaps just slightly watered down.
The standouts for me were “Rough and Twisted,” a bluesy romp-style song, and “Jealous Lover,” where Mick Jagger’s impressive falsetto brings me back to “Emotional Rescue” from 1980.
My favourite parts of the album were the guitar riffs, expertly handled by original band members Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Even in a pop-rock ballad-type song like “In The Stars,” I felt that where the vocals and lyrics fell short, the riffs and guitar work really redeemed the tune.
I think that the familiarity of this album is its strength. The Rolling Stones were not trying to create a new genre or appeal to new fans, but to give listeners a piece of what they once were.
The disco-esque tunes are reminiscent of their 1978 album Some Girls, and the bluesy, R&B sounds remind me of the albums Exile on Main St and Sticky Fingers, released in 1972 and 1971, respectively.
Overall, I do not believe this album is going to launch the Rolling Stones into a new era of relevancy, but for Rolling Stones fans, it blends aspects of the group’s older works in a more modern style, giving fans new material that doesn’t sound too foreign despite the title of the album.
— Hannah Flammenspeck
