Morrissey has returned with the announcement of his highly anticipated new album Make-Up Is A Lie. The record, his fourteenth studio effort and his first in over five years, is set to arrive on March 6 via Sire/Warner Records. In anticipation of its release, he has shared the lead single and title track.

Make-Up Is A Lie was produced by Joe Chiccarelli who has previously worked with the likes of My Morning Jacket, The White Stripes and The Strokes. Aside from working with Chiccarelli, accompanying instrumentation was provided by Camila Grey, Carmen Vandenberg, Juan Galeano, Brendan Buckley, Jesse Tobias, Alain Whyte and Gustavo Manzur.

The album was recorded at Studio La Fabrique in Southern France. The lead single’s lyrics seem to take inspiration from Morrissey’s time in the country as he sings about encountering a shouting woman in Paris who delivers the titular phrase “make-up is a lie!”

 “Make-Up Is A Lie” is as dreamy and poetic as one would expect from Morrissey with a layer of sophistication and ambiguity built into both its lyricism and the composition itself, making for a compelling listen.

Back in December, Morrissey released the tracklist for the album via his social media pages as an early Christmas gift to fans. The artist also set out on a North American tour last fall including an LA show with Social Distortion.

Make-Up Is A Lie Tracklist

1.You’re Right, It’s Time
2. Make-Up Is A Lie
3. Notre-Dame
4. Amazona
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