The fact that she isn’t painted plaid is the definition of restraint.

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[6.56]

Brad Shoup: A song so assured — so rockin’ — that even Terry Richardson can’t screw it up.
[7]

Iain Mew: The rewrite of the “Cherry Lips” chorus is presumably what Shirley Manson provided; the verses sound like The Ramones via The Bluetones (that’s probably just me); and it is definitely, emphatically no “One”, but it’s enough quick fun that the surprise that she’s still around is a happy one.
[6]

Ramzi Awn: Louise Post, is that you? “Red Lips” keeps it simple and packs a punch. Get me another beer cuz this is fuzzy enough for a repeat, and smart enough to take you back. Ferreira’s blend of grunge-pop is deceptively well-balanced, not entirely reminiscent of today, and more true to itself than trend-happy. The Sky we’ve been waiting for.
[8]

Anthony Easton: This is canonically sexy — what with the whispered vocals, the rousing chorus and the percussion — and it uses its canonical sexy text to bitch out a romantic rival in ways that seem both obviously dismissive and effective. There is nothing at all new here, but the text uses the history of the form in ways that are effective enough. Extra point for not going over three minutes. 
[6]

Will Adams: Get past the obvious references (blah blah Shirley Manson) and you’ve still got a hefty synth rock ride. Where the slick “One” registered robotic, “Red Lips” has buckets of persona to spare, commanding a soft-loud binary with ease. Such a dramatic shift in sound is perplexing, sure, but when the results sound this fantastic, I can’t complain.
[8]

Alex Ostroff: The verses of “Red Lips” are a different sort of detached than the icy cold robotics of “One“, but Sky Ferreira’s dead-eyed blasé delivery is still intriguingly effective. Here, she conjures up the ghost of grrrl grunge as well as Ashlee once did, but if Ashlee’s godmother is Courtney L.O.V.E. with her growl, Sky’s is her co-writer Shirley Manson with her multipart-harmony choruses delivered in a manner that suggests the giving of as few fucks and as much fuzz as possible. The relative restraint in the chorus is a counterintuitive choice, given the soar of the guitars and the contrast practically demanded by the verses. It works.
[8]

Colin Small: I find it very weird that the whole ’90s LOUDquietLOUD thing doesn’t fit well into today’s pop formula. Maybe loud simply isn’t loud enough anymore.
[4]

Alfred Soto: Now here’s a good Garbage song, the most proficient in years. It even sports a dandy bass line. Sky can flit between anomie and “sexy” as quickly as her guitarist can whip out the effects pedals. I’m not sure who this is for though — is there an audience for this kind of thing?  
[5]

Katherine St Asaph: Stylishness for stylishness’s sake, and Terry Richardson for fuck’s sake, but if it means Sky Ferreira gets to make music….
[7]