| Make-Up Is a Lie | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 March 2026 | |||
| Recorded | January to late 2023 | |||
| Studio | La Fabrique Studios in St-Remy, France | |||
| Length | 49:48 | |||
| Label | Sire | |||
| Producer | Joe Chiccarelli | |||
| Morrissey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Make-Up Is a Lie | ||||
| ||||
Make-Up Is a Lie is the fourteenth solo album by the English singer Morrissey. The album was released on 5 March 2026.[1][2]
Content
Morrissey announced the tentative production and release of a new album titled Without Music the World Dies on 8 December 2022.[3][4] The album was recorded in January and February 2023 at La Fabrique Studios in St-Remy, France, and was produced by Joe Chiccarelli, making it his fifth collaboration with the singer.[5] It was produced outside the bounds of a record contract, as Morrissey had parted ways with his former label Capitol Records in December 2022.[3] The album was initially scheduled to consist of twelve songs, collectively written by Morrissey and members of his band, but this was later reduced to ten songs.[citation needed]
On 20 February 2023, Morrissey announced Without Music the World Dies had been completed. He then offered the album up to any record labels or private investors willing to distribute the finished album.[5][6]
In December 2024, Morrissey declared: "There are two albums ... The second one was re-recorded in France in late 2023, and given a new title. We scrapped half of the tracks and we recorded six new ones, and so it is not the album from the beginning of 2023".[7] In June 2025, he announced that the album has been renamed to You're Right, It's Time saying "The second album will be released first". He also recorded a cover of Roxy Music's "Amazona".[8] In the same interview, You're Right, It's Time was said to be scheduled for release in September 2025.
On 9 January 2026, it was announced Morrissey had returned to Sire Records to release the album, now entitled Make-Up Is a Lie, preceded by a single of the same name.[9][10]
When first played live, the song "Notre-Dame" was sung with the words: "Before investigations, they said: 'This is not terrorism!'."[11] The Independent wrote that it echoed a "right-wing conspiracy theory", claiming that the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame de Paris was "deliberate" and part as "anti-Christian attacks".[12]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 58/100[13] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Line of Best Fit |    [14] |
| Paste | D-[15] |
| Record Collector | [16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| Slant | [18] |
| The Times | [19] |
On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Make-up is a Lie received an average score of 57 based on 7 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You're Right, It's Time" | Morrissey | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Make-Up Is a Lie" |
| 3:09 |
| 3. | "Notre-Dame" |
| 4:08 |
| 4. | "Amazona" | 4:11 | |
| 5. | "Headache" |
| 4:20 |
| 6. | "Boulevard" |
| 5:40 |
| 7. | "Zoom Zoom the Little Boy" |
| 3:12 |
| 8. | "The Night Pop Dropped" |
| 4:24 |
| 9. | "Kerching Kerching" |
| 2:53 |
| 10. | "Lester Bangs" | Morrissey | 3:42 |
| 11. | "Many Icebergs Ago" |
| 5:24 |
| 12. | "The Monsters of Pig Alley" |
| 4:57 |
| Total length: | 49:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hello Hell" | ||
| 2. | "Happy New Tears" |
|
Personnel
Personnel per Morrissey's website.[6]
- Morrissey – lead vocals, songwriting
Additional personnel
- Jesse Tobias – guitars
- Alain Whyte – guitars, backing vocals
- Gustavo Manzur – keyboards, backing vocals
- Juan Galeano – bass
- Brendan Buckley – drums
Production
- Joe Chiccarelli – production
- Bill Mims – engineering
- Patrick Dillett – mixing
References
- ^ Dunworth, Liberty (9 January 2026). "Morrissey shares title track and announces first album in six years Make-Up Is a Lie". NME. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (9 January 2026). "Morrissey Announces Make-Up Is a Lie, Shares New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b Krol, Charlotte (12 December 2022). "Morrissey announces recording of new album Without Music The World Dies". NME. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Morrissey 2023 - Messages from Morrissey". morrisseycentral.com. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ a b Richards, Will (21 February 2023). "Morrissey has recorded a new album called Without Music The World Dies". NME. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ a b "New Recording". Morrissey Central. 20 February 2023. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ Dodwell, Fiona (11 December 2024). "MORRISSEY SPEAKS". Morrissey-Solo.com. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Morrissey interview / cover Teraz Rock (June 2025, Polish); excerpts". Morrissey-solo. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (9 January 2026). "Morrissey Announces Make-Up Is a Lie, Shares New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
- ^ "Make-Up Is A Lie (Single)". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Wilkes, Emma (6 February 2026). "Morrissey shares new single 'Notre-Dame' after removing controversial terrorism lyric". NME. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ^ O'Connor, Roisin (9 January 2026). "Morrissey Returns". The Independent. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Make-up is a Lie - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Heavisides, Simon (5 March 2026). "Morrissey's Make Up is a Lie is hard to love". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Sharples, Grant (3 March 2026). "Morrissey's Make-Up is a Lie is Worse than Expected". Paste). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Harley, Kevin. "Unchained Melodies Morrissey Make-up Is A Lie". Record Collector. March 2026.
- ^ Dolan, Jon. "Heaven Knows He's Still Miserable Now - Morrissey Make-Up is a Lie [album review]". Rolling Stone. March 2026
- ^ Attard, Payl (3 March 2026). "With Make-Up Is a Lie the Morrissey Grievance Machine Marches On". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will (4 March 2026). "Morrissey Make-up is a Lie more Self-pitying than ever". The Times. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ "Make-up is a Lie - Standard CD". Morrissey Official Store. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
