When news broke that Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley would portray Jeff Buckley in the biopic Greetings From Tim Buckley, there were some objections from James Franco stans who thought Franco was born to play the role. But Badgley held his own as Buckley thanks in part to a set of formidable pipes. And if the movie wasn’t enough to prove that Badgley’s got a voice on him, here’s a song from his band Mother — also featuring Simon Oscroft (No), Jimmy Giannopoulos (Lolawolf, Reputante) and Darren Will (Rathborne) — that will make you a believer. “Victim” is a brooding synth-pop track heavy on sax and ominously moody tones that plays like a stuttering M83 remix of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” Badgley’s vocals here are mostly understated and calm, but he carries himself with an understated (ahem) grace on the mic while his bandmates conjure a woozy metropolitan clatter. Listen below.

The Mother EP is out soon on a label to be named. In the meantime, Mother’s first New York show is this Saturday 3/22 at Piano’s. Get details on that here.