Keo
Keo's
debut album Put A Smile On For Me is an unfiltered examination of shame,
accountability, memory and vulnerability, with frontman Finn Keogh confronting
the parts of himself he would rather avoid. Recorded mostly live and
self-produced by Finn alongside guitarist Jimmy Lanwern in a matter of weeks,
the album feels like a document of a band figuring things out in real time,
turning confusion, contradiction and self-doubt into something loud, immediate
and alive. There is humor in it, but also a real sense of self-recognition, as
though the songs are finding their shape at the same time Finn is finding his
own. It moves between ragged guitars, bruising emotion and huge, undeniable
melodies, holding onto all the chaos and uncertainty that made it worth making
in the first place. Sitting
somewhere between post-grunge and 90s alt rock, Keo - composed of Finn, Conor,
drummer Oli Spackman, and guitarist Jimmy Lanwern - draws on the emotional
intensity of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, while embracing the textured,
shoegazey weight of The Smashing Pumpkins.
From their beginnings on
London's underground circuit, Keo have quickly graduated to some of the biggest
stages of their career, supporting Wolf Alice before returning to Reading &
Leeds for a Main Stage appearance this past summer. The band is currently on
their sold-out UK headline tour and this momentum now carries into 2027 with
their biggest show to date, this spring at the O2 Academy Brixton in London,
which sold out before the release of Put A Smile On For Me. But for all
the numbers around the band, it is the connection in the room that has always
felt most powerful. With very little reliance on social media, Keo have built
their audience through word of mouth, relentless touring and the palpable
feeling that something is happening when these songs are played in a room full
of people.
Keo's
debut album, Put A Smile On For Me charted at #2 on the UK Official
Albums Chart, selling 23,500 units in its first week. This makes Keo the first
UK band in over two years to surpass 20,000 units with a debut album during
week one on the UK Official Albums Chart. Put A Smile On For Me also
debuted at #1 on the UK Physical Albums Chart and at #1 on the UK Vinyl Albums
Chart.