01/09/2026
When not busy bashing his former Smiths bandmates, making controversial statements about immigration and terrorism, and canceling or postponing some 200 shows in the past decade-plus, Morrissey has found time to complete his first album in nearly six years. It will be released on February 27th through Sire, to which the Smiths were signed in the U.S. during their short 1980s lifespan and for which Morrissey recorded as a solo artist between 1988-95.
The title track from the upcoming project is out now and was co-written by keyboardist Camila Gray, while the album was produced by Joe Chiccarelli and recorded in the south of France.
Morrissey is backed on Make-Up Is a Lie by musicians Jesse Tobias, Carmen Vandenberg, Juan Galeano, Alain Whyte, Gustavo Manzur and Brendan Buckley. The album is the follow-up to 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, which failed to chart on the Billboard 200 but reached No. 3 in the U.K.
The artist famously recorded an album afterwards dubbed Bonfire of Teenagers with a team led by producer Andrew Watt, but despite signing with Capitol for its release, the project has never seen the light of day.
