Ready to Live a Lie

Released three years after the duo's Sad Cities in 2022, Ready to Live a Lie is their second release on Italians Do It Better.{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=11 March 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro announce new album, share "The Other Days" |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/sally-shapiro-announce-new-album-share-the-other-days/ |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}}

The album was mixed by the label's co-founder, Johnny Jewel, and Agebjörn of the duo.{{Cite web |last=Nasatir |first=Issa |date=14 March 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro Announce New Album, Share Video for New Song "The Other Days" |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/sally_shapiro_announce_new_album_share_video_for_new_song_the_other_days |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=Under the Radar}} Described as "the duo's darkest album yet", it centers on the duo's vocalist, also known by the same name, and her struggle with personal issues involving relationship and loneliness.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Tyler |date=11 March 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro announce their fifth studio album, Ready To Live A Lie |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/sally-shapiro-announce-their-fifth-studio-album-ready-to-live-a-lie |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}

"The Other Days" was released as a single on 11 March 2025. It was followed by "Did You Call Tonight", the second single, on 1 May 2025.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Tyler |date=1 May 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro share new single, "Did You Call Tonight" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/sally-shapiro-share-new-single-did-you-call-tonight |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}

God Is in the TV Zine scored the album eight out of ten and called it "another Sally Shapiro release that is totally worthy of three quarters of an hour of anyone’s time."{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Andy |date=4 June 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro - Ready To Live A Lie (Italians Do It Better) - God Is In The TV |url=https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2025/06/04/sally-shapiro-ready-to-live-a-lie-italians-do-it-better/ |access-date=14 June 2025 |language=en-US}}

Paste remarked, "Compared to their previous albums, though, Ready to Live a Lie is more explicitly about how Sally—again: the character, not the vocalist—has been hurt and the lies she's endured, or told herself in order to soldier on," rating it 7.6 out of ten.{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Clare |date=30 May 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro's Romantically Melancholic Synth-Pop Will Have You Ready to Live a Lie |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/sally-shapiro/sally-shapiro-ready-to-live-a-lie-album-review |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=Paste |language=en-US}}

MusicOMH gave the album a rating of three and a half stars, stating "Ready To Live a Lie may sound almost gossamer light at times, but there are enough moments on it to provide a melancholic soundtrack to the summer."{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=John |date=29 May 2025 |title=Sally Shapiro – Ready To Live a Lie |url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/sally-shapiro-ready-to-live-a-lie |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=MusicOMH |language=en-GB}}

Beats Per Minute assigned it a score of sixty-nine percent, referring to it as "a reluctant but delicate embrace of sadness and heartache."{{Cite web |last=Finlayson |first=Ray |date=10 June 2025 |title=Album Review: Sally Shapiro – Ready To Live A Lie |url=https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-sally-shapiro-ready-to-live-a-lie/ |access-date=13 June 2025 |website=Beats Per Minute |language=en-US}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = Beats Per Minute

| rev1score = 69%

| rev2 = MusicOMH

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

| rev3 = Paste

| rev3score = 7.6/10

| rev4 = God Is in the TV

| rev4score = 8/10

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Ready to Live a Lie track listing

| total_length = 49:53

| title1 = The Other Days

| writer1 = {{hlist|Johan Agebjörn|Roger Gunnarsson|Mikael Ögren}}

| length1 = 4:12

| title2 = Hard to Love

| writer2 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Elizabeth Morphew}}

| length2 = 4:51

| title3 = Rent

| writer3 = {{hlist|Neil Tennant|Chris Lowe}}

| length3 = 5:37

| title4 = Purple Colored Sky

| writer4 = Agebjörn

| length4 = 4:48

| title5 = Happier Somewhere Else

| writer5 = Agebjörn

| length5 = 3:46

| title6 = Guarding Shell

| writer6 = Agebjörn

| length6 = 5:20

| title7 = Hospital

| writer7 = Gunnarsson

| length7 = 3:03

| title8 = Did You Call Tonight

| writer8 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Gunnarson|Sally Shapiro|Ögren}}

| length8 = 4:40

| title9 = Oh Carrie

| writer9 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Gunnarson}}

| length9 = 3:21

| title10 = He's Not You

| writer10 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Gunnarson}}

| length10 = 4:13

| title11 = Rain

| writer11 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Miranda Gjerstad}}

| length11 = 5:02

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Physical edition bonus tracks

| title12 = Casablanca Nights

| writer12 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Gunnarson|Steve Moore}}

| length12 = 4:01

| title13 = Le Noir Et Le Blanc Sur Le Piano

| writer13 = {{hlist|Gunnarson|Agebjörn|Myleen Offrell|Maria Sandström}}

| length13 = 4:11

| title14 = Forget About You

| note14 = Johnny Jewel's Amnesia Rework

| writer14 = {{hlist|Agebjörn|Gunnarson|Johnny Jewel}}

| length14 = 4:21

| title15 = The Best Thing

| writer15 = Austin Garrick

| length15 = 3:50

}}

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes |title=Ready to Live a Lie |others=Sally Shapiro |date=30 May 2025 |publisher=Italians Do It Better}}

• Sally Shapiro – vocals
• Johan Agebjörn – production, mixing, backing vocals on "Casablanca Nights"

• Steve Moore – production on "Casablanca Nights", guitar on "Le Noir Et Le Blanc Sur Le Piano"
• Mikael Ögren – co-production on "The Other Days" and "Did You Call Tonight"
• Johnny Jewel – mixing, remixing on "Forget About You", additional drums on "Le Noir Et Le Blanc Sur Le Piano", front cover artwork, vinyl artwork
• Roger Gunnarson – falsetto vocals on "Did You Call Tonight"
• Mike Bozzi – mastering
• Frida Klingberg – front cover photography
• Mathias Schukert – front cover artwork
• Lasse Nilson – vinyl artwork

{{Reflist}}

Category:2025 albums

Category:Sally Shapiro albums

Category:Italians Do It Better albums