Words by Ellie Evans<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After months of anticipation, Keo finally deliver their debut album Put A Smile On For Me<\/em>, and it\u2019s 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<\/em> to the brooding Black Dress<\/em> and sprawling Blue Song<\/em>. Finn Keogh\u2019s raspy vocals sit somewhere between tenderness and ruggedness, making even the album\u2019s biggest moments feel intensely personal. Recorded with spontaneity at its core, Put A Smile On For Me<\/em> 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\u2019s journey so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve grown so quickly that there\u2019s probably been very little time to actually process what\u2019s happening. Was there a particular moment where you all looked at each other and thought, \u2018Oh\u2026 this isn\u2019t just a passion side project, this is actually getting quite big\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> Yeah, I mean to be fair, we\u2019ve 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\u2019ve always approached everything with just as much importance. But yeah, particularly coming off stage at Leeds, we felt like we\u2019d 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 \u201cthat was fucking unbelievable\u201d. That was probably, so far, the moment, but there has been many moments. That was the one that pops into mind though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> Imposter syndrome is like a super, real human feeling in all of us, no matter where you are. Like, I\u2019ve definitely walked into Sainsbury\u2019s and felt fucking imposter syndrome, do you know what I mean? I don\u2019t know, for some reason, I feel much more at home in those environments. It\u2019s weird, like your heroes might be backstage, you kind of have to separate the art from the artist. You can\u2019t 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\u2019t actually feel like an imposter at Reading and Leeds, I have in the past though at festivals. I felt like, when you\u2019ve worked really hard for something, you kind of build this feeling of \u201cnow, we belong here and this is what we are meant to be doing\u201d. That\u2019s how I felt at Reading and Leeds over the weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s one of your collective dream venues to play. I\u2019m a huge fan of Glenn\u2019s 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> It\u2019s obviously a little bit daunting, and sometimes people will say something like \u201coh, what are you gonna do to make it special?\u201d or something like that. I think it\u2019s part of the journey, it\u2019s like another place that we are meant to be, and we belong for that singular evening. It\u2019s only one evening really. I think it\u2019s important to not let doubt creep in. I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t really try to think about the pressure. I try to just feel excited about it, and I can\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s one off the new album that you\u2019re excited to play live, that you maybe haven\u2019t yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> I think I\u2019m going to enjoy playing Loser<\/em>. And, I do think Bird on the Wire<\/em> in a big venue will sound amazing as well, when it like really explodes towards the end. So probably one of those two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t think i\u2019ve ever had such fomo than when you guys did a gig on top of the elephant\u2019s head, that looked absolutely incredible, what was the initial thought process with that? whose idea was it? how\u2019d you even get that signed off?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> Oh yeah! Well it wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u201cyeah, go sing a fucking song out the window\u201d without even having to say it. It wasn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is that going to become a recurring thing, do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> I wouldn\u2019t want to make it like a gimmick, you know? I mean, probably not. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll happen again, in some way but those things should kind of be in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you weren\u2019t in Keo, do you think you would still listen to Keo?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> That\u2019s 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<\/em>, which is like the smallest song we have, which is kind of funny. Yeah, probably. Maybe I wouldn\u2019t like Put A Smile On For Me<\/em>, we\u2019ll see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What is something that people have misunderstood about you that you\u2019re eager to set the record straight on?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> Obviously, I think, a lot of people think we are very derivative of Wunderhorse<\/em>, and I think musically we are less similar than people think but I don\u2019t really mind because I\u2019m 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\u2019t 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? <\/p>\n\n\n\n What bands are you listening to at the moment that influenced this new album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> That\u2019s a good question. I don\u2019t really know exactly what influenced the record, but there was definitely a lot of The Bends<\/em>, Radiohead<\/em>, sounds like that. It\u2019s all very like trial, we tried to think about it in as little ways as possible. It\u2019s annoying, it\u2019s always these kinds of questions where I only know what I want to say later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When someone is introduced to Keo for the first time, what do you hope they take away from it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> I kind of want them to be intrigued to come down to the live show, because I think that\u2019s the most special part of any band really. It\u2019s 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\u2019t exist outside of the venue. They\u2019re from New York, and at the time I hadn\u2019t 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\u2019d want from people most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I were to interview you again in five years, what do you hope we would be talking about then?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finn:<\/strong> That\u2019s a really good – that\u2019s a great question. We got to make that happen now. Probably \u2018how was the incredible headline glastonbury set for you?\u2019. Something like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo Credits: Chuff Media (2026)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":725,"featured_media":38184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,3523,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-interview","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n