EP Review: Burning Peacocks – Burning Peacocks
2 min read
Burning Peacocks is a French pop duo consisting of actress/model Alma Jodorowsky and musician David Baudart. Their first EP is a self-titled collection of wistful psychedelic pop and kicks off with lead single Games. Following the airy pleasant plucked notes of synths and guitars, Jodorowsky’s breathy voice nonchalantly emerges. If that isn’t enough to draw comparisons to Lana Del Rey, then the contrast between the mid-tempo verses and the slow, meandering choruses reminiscent of West Coast certainly will. Only with the bouncy bass, almost disco beat and revolving keyboard riff during the floating instrumental break at the end does Burning Peacocks’ sound make itself known.
Avril starts with Jodorowsky deadpanning over bright synth pulses, like those dance-pop queens such as Madonna and Grace Jones. Jodorowsky’s vocals remain distant throughout, but the uplifting music is hard to resist emotionally. As real drums, jubilant bass, glistening synths and sunny, funky guitar licks kick in, the track transforms into a blissful 1980s synth-pop tribute that should inspire spinning around on the dance floor. That euphoric final minute could go on forever, and listeners wouldn’t be sick of it. This is a clear candidate for the duo’s next single.
The mysterious opening guitar licks on Questioning The Silence sets the impending mood for the rest of the track. The verses are well-centred slow-burners, before the choruses wander away like ‘daydreams’. The slide guitar breaks between verses and choruses restore the focus to the song. And yet again, Jodorowsky’s distorted vocals in the last few seconds sound a bit too much like Lana Del Rey’s Cruel World.
The folksy The One has Jodorowsky gliding through an exotic, Indian-influenced melody over an earthy backing track with subtle synths, calm guitars and tender tambourine claps. The musical arrangement is unconventional yet strangely alluring, as if to invite listeners into the duo’s murky inner world.
Burning Peacocks’ new EP is a sufficient sampler for what is to come. At times, it ventures towards derivative, pedestrian unoriginality. Games is a poor choice for the first single when listeners could easily mistake it for someone else. At other times, the duo’s brand of dreamy synth-pop does connect to listeners.
