Posters promoting a band called the Cockroaches have appeared around the north London neighborhood of Camden Town. The group is releasing a vinyl-only white label single called "Rough And Twisted" this Saturday, and they have a website where you can sign up for more info and buy a T-shirt that reads "WHO THE FUCK ARE THE COCKROACHES?" According to a new feature in the Times of London, it's just the Rolling Stones in disguise, and all this is a warning shot for a new album dropping in July.
The new LP, which hasn't yet been publicly named, will be the follow-up to 2023's Hackney Diamonds, the one where they got Sydney Sweeney for the music video. It was once again recorded with aging rock star whisperer Andrew Watt, who also produced the new Paul McCartney album. It will be the 25th Stones album, and per the Times, they have 10 more songs ready to go for a 26th.
What they won't be doing is touring to promote the new music. "The Rolling Stones will play when they decide to, not before," a rep for the band tells the Times. "There are no concerts planned." Plans for a 2026 tour were reportedly scrapped late last year because Keith Richards felt he couldn't commit. That's disappointing, but at age 82, who can blame him?
As for "Rough And Twisted," it's not online yet, but the Times reports that it sounds like a Rolling Stones song, with a signature blues-rock guitar riff from Richards and a harmonica solo from Mick Jagger, who reportedly sings, "You just took me to a flyblown town in the middle of nowhere/ The smell was acrid and toxic/ Couldn’t breathe the air." We'll add it here whenever it emerges.
