Morrissey's Latest Album: A Boomer Casualty of Social Media Algorithms?
Morrissey, the iconic former frontman of The Smiths, has released his 14th solo album, Make-Up Is a Lie, on the Sire label. The album arrives six years after his previous record, I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, following a period of industry drama that included an abandoned release and distribution challenges. Unfortunately, the new work is largely nostalgic, sentimental, and dull, presenting Morrissey as a shadow of what he once was.
Conspiracy Theories and Fear-Mongering
Thankfully, dodgy conspiracy theories are kept to one track, but that track, Notre-Dame, is a watershed moment. The song features a noirish, poptimised disco sound, with Morrissey's tremulous voice singing about the 2019 fire at Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral. He coos, "We know who tried to kill you," referring to baseless claims of deliberate arson covered up by the French government, fueled by rightwing commentators. This crude fear-mongering highlights Morrissey as a boomer casualty of his social media algorithm, with indignation mounting from grifters, or perhaps as an influencer using music for dog-whistle views.
Lack of Insight and Sentimental Backdrops
The rest of the album doesn't stray into similar territory, but it's not much better. The title track, Make-Up Is a Lie, is a sub sixth-form poetry tautology delivered with maniacal conviction over a plodding breakbeat and flamenco flourishes. The 12 tracks veer between synth-pop, glam, chamber pop, and indie, with backdrops that are primarily utilitarian, designed to foreground Morrissey's inimitable, maudlin vocals. These now serve as delivery systems for tart nostalgia and thin sentimentality.
For example, Kerching Kerching jeers at a man ground down by a lover embodying modern capitalism's demands, while The Monsters of Pig Alley addresses an alienated pop star tempted by pre-fame connections, described as "drab ... overweight and dated." The sonic loveliness is soured by disdainful repetition.
Specialist Subjects Fall Flat
Morrissey isn't insightful even when tackling his specialist subjects. On The Night Pop Dropped, a musical great is mourned blandly over chunky funk, with vague lyrics like "How empty life would be if we had never known ..." Lester Bangs remembers the late music critic as a dishevelled, basement-dwelling drunk watching football "wrapped in an American flag," with an opaquely rhetorical refrain. Morrissey reflects on his youth as a nerd leaning on Bangs' words, but it lacks depth.
Legacy and Residual Affection
For the faithful, Morrissey remains loved as a teenage shut-in who projected uncompromised selfhood. In a 1984 interview, he noted that fanmail wasn't really addressed to him, and any appeal Make-Up Is a Lie holds is just residual affection for the hallucinated stranger who wrote songs listeners once leaned upon. The album is a depressing brainteaser, a Rubik's Cube that fans can't help fiddling with, even if it's never solved.
In summary, Make-Up Is a Lie is a nostalgic, sentimental, and dull offering from Morrissey, lacking the clever, idiosyncratic beauty of his past work and marred by moments of crude conspiracy theories.
