Earlier this year, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, the debut album from mercurial R&B genius Maxwell, celebrated its 20th anniversary. And in a two-decade career, the man has managed to release four albums. His most recent was 2009’s BLACKsummers’night, and that was the first album in a planned trilogy. When he went seven years without a follow-up, many of us figured that trilogy was over and done. Not the case. This summer, he’ll follow it up with the confusingly-titled BlackSUMMER’Snight. And this morning, he’s dropped the long-awaited, long-teased first single “Lake By The Ocean.” It’s an absolutely expert song, a slow and finely crafted love ballad that makes the most of Maxwell’s absolutely stunning voice. It’s a very rare thing that we get to hear a new Maxwell song, so don’t take this one for granted. Check it out below.

BlackSUMMER’Snight is out 7/1 on Columbia.