Like most of the crafters of the neo-soul movement, Maxwell has been reclusive since the genre's late '90s heyday. He hasn't released an album since 2001's Now, but he's promising a trilogy of album's starting with this summer's Black (due out this summer, and to be followed by Summer's in 2010, and Night in 2011), which seemed like an unlikely project, since, like D'Angelo, he's been promising a new album for a while. But here's a video for Black's first single, "Pretty Wings," which finds Maxwell grooving like it's 1999 (or 1969, I suppose) like he's never left. They don't make R&B songs like this much any more; it sounds exactly like the best of the genre is supposed to.

Black is due out on July 7 via Columbia. [2 Dope Boyz]