Nate Valdez, one-half of the alternative metal duo In The Whale, is today launching his new solo project, simply called VALDEZ.

He's kicking it off with the soaring first single "Saint Munchausen," which is premiering today on Variance. The track is lyrically wrought with pain, reflective of someone who claims to have your best interest in mind but they don't at all, using Munchausen by proxy disorder as a metaphor for the dark underbelly of the music business.

“It’s where the person who claims to have your best intentions is actually trying to hold you back,” says VALDEZ of the new cut.

Despite the song's inspiration and context, it showcases VALDEZ's influence by the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes, while anchored by a sweeping chorus which fuses the stadium-ready vocals of Mumford & Sons with big, frantic horns in the vein of Sufjan Stevens, all making for a unique and irresistible debut offering.

Check out the lyric video below.