Words by Lucy Fudge
Building a fanbase exclusively through live shows, Keo solidified themselves as one of the most exciting new alt-rock bands around, selling out shows before they’d even released any music. After 18 months of rapid growth and live gigs, you’d think it would be easy to lose momentum, but Keo’s debut album ‘Put A Smile On For Me’ leaves no room for doubt that, when it comes to this London-based band, the only way is up.
The album opens with ‘Be Happy’, a guitar-heavy track that dissects happiness, layering grungy riffs over a solid drum line. The song’s message is reinforced in the accompanying music video, where we see the band performing in an oversaturated field of sunflowers, while a crowd watches it from a far less vivid cinema scene, before seemingly entering a state of euphoria during the song’s bridge.
If Wunderhorse and Sam Fender had a track together, it would probably sound something like ‘That’s Me’, a guitar-led track packed with classic riffs, distortion and gritty vocals. The atmosphere begins to shift during ‘Fly’ and ‘Best I Can Do’, two tracks that offer a more pensive moment before settling into quiet resignation in the partially acoustic track ‘Bird On The Wire’.
The gentle acoustic intro in ‘Pistol’ is quickly interrupted by a bruising drum fill, followed by gut-punching opening lyrics, “Some things don’t come alive, until they’re already dead / Sometimes you see the light but it’s been gone for years”, as the band’s frontman Finn Keogh explores how past relationships continue to shape us well into the future. ‘Pistol’ is the kind of song that you listen to while staring out the car window as it rains, pairing dynamic instrumentals with probing lyrics in a way that feels like it belongs in a 2000s coming-of-age movie.
Keogh confronts his demons head-on during the record’s seventh track, ‘Loser’. Thematically similar to Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, Keogh’s brutal exploration of his own mind is a stellar example of the straightforward, honest lyricism he has become known for. The distorted guitars bleed into the disconnected intro of ‘Black Dress’, a short but powerful song in which the guitars truly take centre stage.
The longest track on the album, ‘Blue Song ’, captures the bittersweet tenderness of knowing you can’t be with someone but loving them nonetheless and wishing them the best. The repeating pre-chorus “And she can’t be fine with so much l?ft to say / And she can’t be mine so I’ll know I hav? to wait” is punctuated by edgy guitar riffs and gritty vocals.
Originally released on the band’s debut EP ‘Siren’, ‘Thorn’ quickly became a fan favourite. While this re-recording may be more polished, the track preserves its original charm, showing how far Keo have come in the past year.
‘Spent On You’, the album’s final track, starts simple and stripped back with just an acoustic guitar and vocals, offering an almost folky sound. The song flows seamlessly between verse and chorus. As more instruments are gradually introduced, the soft vocals are layered with distorted guitars as Keogh sings “I thought I’d never have to regret / Changing my life for you”. The song reaches its climax during the bridge, followed by an instrumental break that puts the guitars centre stage.
Acting as an outro for not only the song but also the album, the track’s gentle ending leaves plenty of space for Keogh’s unresolved feelings to continue; the lyrics, “Years came and went, all this time I’ve spent on you / I’ve spent all my life on you / I wonder if you’re ever coming back,” lingering as the guitar fades out.
Since the beginning, people have been quick to draw comparisons between Keo and other guitar-led bands. Between their debut EP last summer and the release of this album, it is clear that the band have refined their sound, turning it into something that is uniquely theirs. Beneath the surface of gritty guitar riffs and dynamic vocals, ‘Put A Smile On For Me’ is an intense exploration of love, loss and learning who you really are, and by choosing to embrace imperfections and preserve the texture of their live sound, Keo have produced a truly incredible debut album which stands out from the crowd.
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