Albums to watch

Make-Up Is A Lie

Morrissey

Make-Up Is A Lie

Fourteenth solo release and first in five years the former Smiths frontman produced by Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, The Killers, U2)

ADM rating[?]

5.5

Label
Warner Records
UK Release date
06/03/2026
US Release date
06/03/2026
  1. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Yet if neurosis, despair and paranoia remain his materials, here he uses them well. In as impressive voice as ever been. Print edition only

  2. 7.3 |   Spectrum Culture

    It’s not quite great enough to make you overlook your qualms, but it is good enough to make you sad all over again about the Morrissey you thought you knew
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  3. 7.0 |   Hot Press

    The arrangements are a little safe and a few of the songs (including the title track) are Mozza-by-numbers, but given his tribulations of late, Make-Up Is A Lie is far better than some of us feared
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  4. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Morrissey’s Make-Up Is a Lie is a love letter to Paris: schmaltzy, befuddling, arresting, but, most of all, HIM
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  5. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Beyond the conspiracy theories, there's still a poignancy that resonates
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  6. 6.5 |   Under The Radar

    The first five songs suggest a great late-period work for the 66-year-old Morrissey, and although Side A stumbles into a second half that staggers a bit before its high-note finish, Make-Up Is a Lie is the intentional work of a man still striving for pop mana, ever true to who he is, for better or worse
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  7. 6.1 |   Pitchfork

    The singer’s 14th album shows signs of progress and signs of regression, artful touches and leaden songwriting—it’s a new Morrissey album
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  8. 6.0 |   Record Collector

    Sometimes predictably frustrating, sometimes pleasingly fresh, Make-up Is A Lie is a reminder that Morrissey probably couldn’t stop at this stage of the game, much less change
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  9. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Make-Up Is a Lie, the singer’s new album, is a long way short of The Smiths, but it’s merely bad-tempered and argumentative rather than actively offensive
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  10. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Former Smiths frontman doesn’t make it easy for the listener, even if there are some good songs on his latest album
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  11. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    "I don’t like you," he then continues ad nauseum. This is what he excels in
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  12. 5.0 |   Rolling Stone

    His 14th album isn’t going to do much to change his strange place in the world, but it proves his pain is real too
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  13. 5.0 |   All Music

    Morrissey’s singular personality is on full display, and just as uncompromising as ever, but sitting through an entire album of his musings and moanings circa 2026 is less than fun
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  14. 5.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Many will genuinely want to love this record, but Morrissey makes it remarkably hard
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  15. 4.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Bold truth-teller or cantankerous curmudgeon?
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  16. 2.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    The songs never seem to go anywhere beyond the calling card of their own titles, and before we’re hardly a quarter into the record, even Morrissey seems bored
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  17. 1.6 |   Paste Magazine

    His 14th solo album, produced by longtime collaborator Joe Chiccarelli, is rife with boring instrumentals and clunky lyrics that indulge Moz at his most frustratingly gauche
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