Some artists don’t ask permission, they just land in your gut and stay there. Rising London four-piece Keo, is one of them. Raw, poetic, and beautifully unpolished, Keo are fast becoming one of the UK’s most talked-about new bands – and for good reason. Having just signed to Island Records, we can only expect great things to come from the band’s career.
Fronted by 21-year-old Finn Keogh, a generational songwriter shaped by a nomadic childhood, years of busking, and a voice that carries far more than its age, Keo have quickly built a reputation for live shows that teeter between catharsis and collapse. Following two acclaimed singles – the bruising debut ‘I Lied, Amber’ and the guttural chaos of follow-up ‘Thorn’ – Keo shared their debut 5-track EP ‘Siren’ in June as a raw, unflinching reckoning.
With early support from NME, Dork, The Line of Best Fit, DIY, Clash, BBC Radio 1 and more, ‘Siren’, is an extraordinary exploration of all of these selves. Written over an 18 month period, the five track-long effort has the tender gaze of a young, sober, headstrong artist reckoning with his earlier life; on the cusp of indie stardom, looking back at where he’s been and where he might be going next. These are tender times to capture in song, but Finn is a writer with real empathy and compassion, and this translates beautifully on ‘Siren’.
LISTEN TO ‘SIREN EP’| LISTEN TO ‘HANDS’
Keo – Tour Dates
Mon 20 Oct – Gorilla, Manchester
Tue 21 Oct – The Key Club, Leeds
Thu 23 Oct – The Art School, Glasgow
Fri 24 Oct – Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne
Sat 25 Oct – O2 Institute 2, Birmingham
Mon 27 Oct – The Louisiana, Bristol
Wed 29 Oct – Village Underground, London
Sat 01 Nov – The Academy, Dublin
Sat 15 Nov – Live at Leeds in the City, Leeds