Morrissey – Make-Up is a Lie Review

Four years since the last release from Morrissey makes Make-Up is a Lie a borderline comeback. A follow-up to Rebels Without Applause and seemingly a shift in momentum, six years on from his last studio album, it has been some time since The Smiths’ frontman has released new material. He’s been performing this unreleased work for years, though, on the tour dates he hasn’t cancelled over the last few years. Not many shows, then, but each of them is entertaining to watch from home as people clamber the barrier to get a grip on the trouser leg of the Suedehead hitmaker. No doubt, Make-Up is a Lie will give fans another excuse to swoon over Moz, and it seems his new record label, Sire Records, are keen to roll out his two albums worth of material. Whatever you were expecting from Morrissey at this point, Make-Up is a Lie upsets the predictable tone. It’s a real, welcome surprise. 

Repeating the title of the track to form the chorus is the weakest part of the song, but the storytelling Morrissey provides with that deeper, booming percussion, is startling. Parisian escapades and string sections which sound unconvinced, borderline villainous, in their stance against the traipse Morrissey takes on Make-Up is a Lie, is great fun. A bold lead single, in the sense that it subverts the tone Morrissey has taken on previous records, but then that’s the point of being away for so long. It’s time for the First of the Gang to Die hitmaker to assess, wanted or not, on what his image shall be for the next few years. Where the material does take a dive at times, it’s short enough to set the scene, sudden enough to give Morrissey a boost. It’s a sensible piece of work that’ll tear down the current mood on his work, and that’s thanks to the instrumental choices more than anything.  

Blisteringly short, a song that’s over before it really gets started, but the mournful silences and French backdrop are revealed well and form a solid base. If it weren’t for the weak and predictable lyrical work for the chorus, this would be a real bold moment for Morrissey. It’s an instrumental style which has such riches to it, and he pulls on that briefly with visits to poet-filled garages and comments on reclusiveness. Perhaps that latter topic, the contraction before expansion, as Morrissey has done by receding from the studio and bursting out, now, is what made him choose Make-Up is a Lie as the lead single. Instrumentally, it’s the most interesting work Morrissey has put out in some time. Rebels Without Applause would feed on the familiarity of The Smiths’ work, but here, there’s a whole new direction.  

Instrumental riches are not quite enough to pull Make-Up is a Lie through as a must-listen experience, but it’s strong work from Morrissey all the same. Had it been given that little bit of room to grow, a rewrite to a chorus that’s only remembered because it serves as the title of the track, then this would’ve been that much better. Instrumentally inspired work is what drives it, and Morrissey sounds fantastic, though that’ll not be a surprise to those who caught him on recent tours. He still has the goods, and the Moz cult will no doubt take Make-Up is a Lie to heart. It’s more an artsy expression than any firm comment, but there’s projection for the sake of projection, and that’ll morph this short and solid song in the years to come. For now, though, it’s quality work which gives listeners a small reason to be excited for Morrissey’s upcoming albums.