James Franco is a man. He is an artist. He is a writer. He is a director. He is a musician. He is gay. He is straight. He is cis. He is poly, he is bi, he is human. He is also in a band called Daddy, and that band just released a song called “Gentle But You Weren’t.”
Aside from the obvious, which is that the song should’ve been titled “Gentle (But You Weren’t),” our first listen to the band’s newest song was surprisingly painless. Franco and his bandmate Tim O’Keefe are clearly inspired by the Smiths, in that everything is easygoing and the vocals are soaring and the vibe is only as palpable as the harshest vape drag. Also, Smiths’ bassist Andy Rourke appeared played on the band’s last single “You Are Mine,” but he hasn’t been confirmed as a player on this most recent track.
At one point in the song, O’Keefe sings, “Oh it’s boring, so boring, boooooring,” which is dangerous ammunition to feed to the listener, especially in a song that is mostly languid in its execution. Anyway, listen to it below. It’s probably better than you’re expecting. It is, at least, not dad rock.
Daddy’s upcoming LP and film, Let Me Get What I Want (of course it’s not just one or the other) is out March 18th.