Morrissey has signed a new record deal with Sire Records (Seymour Stein’s legendary alternative label now owned by Warners) and has today unveiled his new single, Make-up Is a Lie. It is a taste of his new album of the same name which is being released on March 6 and marks his fourteenth solo studio album.
It marks a return from the music wilderness for the singer after years of record company problems. Despite completing two albums they remained unreleased under first BMG and the Capitol Records, who he left in 2022. This turbulent period has also been marked by public disagreements with former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr and in an online post last year titled he announced that he was selling his stake in the Smiths’ business interests, citing burnout from “malicious accusations” from former bandmates.
He will also playing a show at the O2 on February 28 as part of his world tour. although his week he had to cancel a few dates due to an “adverse reaction” to medication. Last year he cancelled two dates in North America due to “death threats.”
The album is produced by Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, The White Stripes), and was recorded at Studio La Fabrique in the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the south of France. The tracklisting is:
1. You’re Right, It’s Time
2. Make-up is a Lie
3. Notre-Dame
4. Amazona (Roxy Music cover)
5. Headache
6. Boulevard
7. Zoom Zoom the Little Boy
8. The Night Pop Dropped
9. Kerching Kerching
10. Lester Bangs
11. Many Icebergs Ago
12. The Monsters of Pig Alley