A keyboard, a bass and sorrowful vocals ― the formula may sound simple, but the newly debuted Damien Rice-inspired ballad rock duo Peacock is hoping it’s enough to make a mark.

Jo Young-il on lead vocals and keyboard and Kim Sang-hoon on the bass met through a mutual musician friend about three years ago and teamed up to create music based on their love of the vocal style of the popular Irish singer-songwriter.

Auto-Tuning the electric bass guitar to where it actually sounds like Kim is playing the cello, the duo performed songs from its newly released nine-track debut EP “Apprivoiser” during a press showcase held at the Rolling Hall in Hongdae on Tuesday. 

“We are really big fans of Damien Rice, he’s one of our favorite artists,” said Jo during the showcase. “He uses a lot of cello sounds in his music and you can see that the way we play the bass is very different than most people. We alter up the bass sounds so that it actually sounds like a string instrument ... we think it adds more emotion to our music.”

During the showcase, the duo performed its lead track “Familiarize,” a slow-tempo ballad about getting used to being away from love, friends and family.

Although more of a homage to Rice, the members of Peacock stated that their desire is simply to pursue music of a poetic and sentimental nature.

With dramatic vocals and compelling a capella sessions, the duo’s EP encompasses an overall feeling of emotional instability. Peacock’s songs sound almost like the perfect soundtrack to a European movie scene ― where a man or woman, being drenched by heavy rain, is walking alone down a cobble stone street in deep contemplation.

The musicians admitted that the reason they chose the band name “Peacock” was to reflect on the image of long-lasting beauty in music.

“I read that unlike many bird species that physically morph throughout evolution, peacocks have kept their beautiful tail feathers,” said Jo. “So just like with our music, no matter how difficult it may get in time, we hope to be able to continue to create meaningful songs.”

Actor-turned-rock musician Choi Min-soo also stopped by the showcase to congratulate the musicians on their debut.

Choi walked onto the stage looking like a combination of rock ’n’ roll meets Johnny Depp, and said that after having the opportunity to play with the duo and hear their music, he was impressed by the musical depth the artists were able to achieve at such a young age.

“Their music is art and has the ability to paint wonderful pictures in your mind,” said Choi.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)