We haven’t heard much from Craft Spells, the project of Stockton/San Francisco’s Justin Vallesteros, since he holed up in the San Joaquin Valley after 2010’s Idle Labor. Since he disappeared, he picked up a few more musical provisions—a skill in piano and a penchant for string accompaniment, for example—but the end result is worth waiting for.

“Breaking the Angle Against the Tide”, the first single from next album Nausea (which will drop from Captured Tracks June 10), is compositionally thoughtful, breaking through predictable cyclical pop with the aid of a string section. He cautiously adds his vocals, apprehensive to upstage the rolling melody and ancillary violins.

Though there’s no word on a local show just yet, one is surely on the horizon. In the meantime, check out the first single, right here via Soundcloud.