The road to Robbie Williams’ first new studio album since 2019’s ‘The Christmas Present’ has been quite an interesting one. Originally announced for release in October 2025, ‘BRITPOP’ was pushed back to 6th February 2026 to avoid having to compete with Taylor Swift’s hugely anticipated ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ album. Williams confirmed that during a show at Dingwalls last October stating that he wanted to achieve his 16th number one album. Oddly, Williams then decided to surprise release the album digitally on Friday, with the physical formats following on 6th February, as planned. Quite why that decision was made hasn’t been confirmed, but you’d think splitting the digital and physical releases would hamper, not improve his chances. I guess time will tell.
Despite the movement around the release date, ‘BRITPOP’ promises to return Williams to the sound that he launched himself with in 1997, when he released his debut solo album ‘Life Thru a Lens’. The album originally looked like it was going to flop, hitting 11 on the charts in its first week, producing three singles – ‘Old Before I Die’, ‘Lazy Days’ and ‘South of the Border’ – which enjoyed varying degrees of success. It was fourth single ‘Angels’ that turned things around and final single ‘Let Me Entertain You’ that contributed to the album eventually hitting number one and selling over 2.1 million copies in the UK alone.
The sound for that record moved Williams mostly away from pop and closer to rock, and you got the feeling he wanted to be more like the Britpop stars of the time, than a mainstream pop artist. With ‘BRITPOP’ he gets his chance, revisiting the sound that defined the 90s and making the album he claims he wanted to make after leaving Take That in 1995. At a time when Britpop is having somewhat of a resurgence thanks to the triumphant return of Oasis last year, Williams could be about to have his biggest album in years.
‘BRITPOP’ is a lean record, clocking in at 38 minutes, very much embodying the 90s trend for albums. It opens with the frenetic ‘Rocket’ featuring Black Sabbath’s Tommy Iommi and it’s a storming start to an album that could well be Williams’ most interesting in years. The tempo slows down a little for ‘Spies’, a song that recalls the guitar-driven indie-pop of the likes of Ash, with Williams delivering a strong vocal. Williams’ knack for a big chorus is present on this track, and it sits proudly among some of his best work. ‘Pretty Face’ ups the tempo again with crunching electric guitars driving a melody punctuated by a strong beat. It’s fair to assume that the song is about Williams’ wife Ayda Field.
Always one to take the listener by surprise, Williams delivers an attitude-filled rock track with spoken word verses and a big chorus on ‘Bite Your Tongue’. For ‘Cocky’, Williams channels Oasis, doing a very good Liam Gallagher impression as he elongates his vowels as a bouncy beat provides a suitable backing. I can imagine this one being a big hit live thanks to its sing-a-long chorus. ‘All My Life’ could have been taken from ‘Life Thru a Lens’, perfectly emulating the sound that Williams first launched with, while ‘Human’ featuring Jesse & Joy is one of the album’s softer moments that is a little folkier than the rest of the songs here.
One of the big draws on the record will no doubt be ‘Morrissey’, a collaboration between Williams and his former bandmate Gary Barlow. Using the iconic singer as inspiration for an electro-ballad about loneliness, the song proves to be one of the standout moments on the record. You can hear Barlow’s influence (and his vocals, I’m fairly sure) throughout the track. As the album moves into its final moments, William brings his 90s swagger back on the bravado-filled ‘You’ and draws influence from Pulp and Suede on the fantastic “It’s OK Until the Drugs Stop Working”. The album draws to a close with the ballad ‘Pocket Rocket’, which is surprisingly ethereal and dreamy. It’s a sedate end to an album that bounces around with plenty of energy.
‘BRITPOP’ is an interesting record and the sound definitely suits Williams. He’s always at his best when he’s unleashed, and despite there being plenty of introspective moments here, this album feels like the most authentic Robbie record we’ve heard in a while. ‘BRITPOP’ will continue Williams’ legacy as one of the most successful and popular British singers of all-time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he clinches himself that 16th number one record.
Track list: 1. Rocket (feat. Tony Iommi) 2. Spies 3. Pretty Face 4. Bite Your Tongue 5. Cocky 6. All My Life 7. Human (feat. Jesse & Joy) 8. Morrissey 9. You 10. It’s OK Until The Drugs Stop Working 11. Pocket Rocket Record label: Sony Music Release date: 16th January 2026 Buy ‘BRITPOP’ now
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