Words by Ellie Evans

After months of anticipation, Keo finally deliver their debut album Put A Smile On For Me, and it’s every bit as raw, loud and emotionally exposed as their live shows suggest. Across 11 tracks, grunge-heavy guitars collide with vulnerable songwriting, from the explosive opener Be Happy to the brooding Black Dress and sprawling Blue Song. Finn Keogh’s raspy vocals sit somewhere between tenderness and ruggedness, making even the album’s biggest moments feel intensely personal. Recorded with spontaneity at its core, Put A Smile On For Me feels less like a polished debut and more like a snapshot of a band figuring themselves out in real time. To celebrate the release, Ellie chatted to Finn about Keo’s journey so far. 

You’ve grown so quickly that there’s probably been very little time to actually process what’s happening. Was there a particular moment where you all looked at each other and thought, ‘Oh… this isn’t just a passion side project, this is actually getting quite big’?

Finn: Yeah, I mean to be fair, we’ve always treated Keo very very importantly – like every single one of us. From playing the George Tavern, walking out to like fifty people, to walking out Reading and Leeds the other day. Like, we’ve always approached everything with just as much importance. But yeah, particularly coming off stage at Leeds, we felt like we’d nailed that set. All of us kind of just had this camaraderie and kind of look in our eyes, I think, when we came off of like “that was fucking unbelievable”. That was probably, so far, the moment, but there has been many moments. That was the one that pops into mind though. 

You literally just played Reading just before Charli XCX and Fontaines D.C. coming up later that day. When you look at a lineup like that, does it ever evoke having moments of imposter syndrome?

Finn: Imposter syndrome is like a super, real human feeling in all of us, no matter where you are. Like, I’ve definitely walked into Sainsbury’s and felt fucking imposter syndrome, do you know what I mean? I don’t know, for some reason, I feel much more at home in those environments. It’s weird, like your heroes might be backstage, you kind of have to separate the art from the artist. You can’t expect to be best friends with people just because you love their music or something. I just try to give like everyone their own space, and we just try do our own thing. I didn’t actually feel like an imposter at Reading and Leeds, I have in the past though at festivals. I felt like, when you’ve worked really hard for something, you kind of build this feeling of “now, we belong here and this is what we are meant to be doing”. That’s how I felt at Reading and Leeds over the weekend. 

Brixton is a massive jump from the rooms you were playing not that long ago, i actually remember you saying in a past interview with gigs with Glenn that it’s one of your collective dream venues to play. I’m a huge fan of Glenn’s work haha. Does announcing a show that big and of your dream venue make you think differently about what the band has to become with that kind of expectation, or do you almost want to prove that you can fill it without changing anything?

Finn: It’s obviously a little bit daunting, and sometimes people will say something like “oh, what are you gonna do to make it special?” or something like that. I think it’s part of the journey, it’s like another place that we are meant to be, and we belong for that singular evening. It’s only one evening really. I think it’s important to not let doubt creep in. I don’t know, I don’t really try to think about the pressure. I try to just feel excited about it, and I can’t wait to play a full set of released music in a big venue of people who are there to see us, and love the music. I try not to let any of that overthinking happen. 

What’s one off the new album that you’re excited to play live, that you maybe haven’t yet?

Finn: I think I’m going to enjoy playing Loser. And, I do think Bird on the Wire in a big venue will sound amazing as well, when it like really explodes towards the end. So probably one of those two. 

I don’t think i’ve ever had such fomo than when you guys did a gig on top of the elephant’s head, that looked absolutely incredible, what was the initial thought process with that? whose idea was it? how’d you even get that signed off?

Finn: Oh yeah! Well it wasn’t thought out. I had the acoustic guitar upstairs, just because sometimes I warm up on it. We played the show, came upstairs, and we were all absolutely boiling – if you couldn’t tell by the video. It was like thirty five degrees that day, and it was ridiculously hot. As I walked into the green room, I just saw all of the fans and the people who had come to the show, outside on the street. They kind of spotted me, and started kind of cheering and chanting the whole Keo thing. We started throwing some t-shirts out for free, which was nice. 

But then, I saw the acoustic guitar, perfectly next to the window. I remember turning to Connor, my brother, and both of us were just looking at each other. I knew what he was saying. He was kind of going “yeah, go sing a fucking song out the window” without even having to say it. It wasn’t an intentional thing, but just felt appropriate. The window was like weirdly perfect for it, because it was weirdly low. It was just one of those things where the dots aligned. It was unintentionally perfect. No one even remembered about the gig downstairs, they just remembered about that part. 

Is that going to become a recurring thing, do you think?

Finn: I wouldn’t want to make it like a gimmick, you know? I mean, probably not. I’m sure it’ll happen again, in some way but those things should kind of be in the moment.

If you weren’t in Keo, do you think you would still listen to Keo?

Finn: That’s a good question. Let me think. Maybe? I think Keo is like the music I wish existed, you know? I probably would, I think I would be like a big fan of Kind, If You Will, which is like the smallest song we have, which is kind of funny. Yeah, probably. Maybe I wouldn’t like Put A Smile On For Me, we’ll see. 

What is something that people have misunderstood about you that you’re eager to set the record straight on?

Finn: Obviously, I think, a lot of people think we are very derivative of Wunderhorse, and I think musically we are less similar than people think but I don’t really mind because I’m a big fan of them. When I was seventeen, they were one of the first small bands, at the time, that I discovered in London. They have been a big part of the reason of why we are here, so I don’t really mind it. I guess I wish people could kind of see us as our own thing, and if there is a day where we are not in comparison to them then fucking thank god, you know? 

What bands are you listening to at the moment that influenced this new album?

Finn: That’s a good question. I don’t really know exactly what influenced the record, but there was definitely a lot of The Bends, Radiohead, sounds like that. It’s all very like trial, we tried to think about it in as little ways as possible. It’s annoying, it’s always these kinds of questions where I only know what I want to say later. 

When someone is introduced to Keo for the first time, what do you hope they take away from it?

Finn: I kind of want them to be intrigued to come down to the live show, because I think that’s the most special part of any band really. It’s how they make you feel in the room. My favourite band, when I go to see them, I feel like I enter this world that doesn’t exist outside of the venue. They’re from New York, and at the time I hadn’t been to New York, it just suddenly made this imagination. This imagination of what it might be like to grow up in New York because of this show. So yeah, just being interested in coming down and feeling it in the room is what I’d want from people most.

If I were to interview you again in five years, what do you hope we would be talking about then?

Finn: That’s a really good – that’s a great question. We got to make that happen now. Probably ‘how was the incredible headline glastonbury set for you?’. Something like that.