Having spent much of their initial career in the shadow of alternative contemporaries Wunderhorse, Keo finally deliver their long-awaited debut Put A Smile On For Me. With this album, the band begins to carve out its own identity, drawing more heavily from ‘90s alternative-rock heroes such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and Nirvana. The influence of these artists is immediately apparent — in Put A Smile On For Me the band offers a much more textured and layered sonic identity than their 2025 EP Siren. However, while these are certainly more prestigious influences, Keo often wears them too openly on their sleeves. In its weaker moments, this album reads less like the work of an inspired modern indie act and more like a particularly well-executed tribute.
Fortunately, there is still plenty to suggest Keo are capable of moving past their inspirations. The guitar work is particularly effective, favouring feeling and atmosphere over technical intricacy. Frequent use of alternate tunings and dense, wall-of-sound arrangements provide the songs considerable muscle and character, creating an immersive atmosphere. Frontman Finn Keogh is equally convincing. His vocals are raw and sharply defined, demonstrated on the belted, emotional chorus of ‘Fly.’ While Keogh’s powerful delivery is a consistent highlight, his lyrics are sometimes less successful. At times, the band seems so preoccupied with its own angst that certain songs feel as if they are trying too hard to be edgy and emotionally intense, and veer dangerously close to outright teenage melodrama. For all the conviction in Keogh’s performance, the writing occasionally seems to mistake rawness for depth.
Another problem is that the album very often progresses exactly as you would expect. I was rarely surprised by a song’s direction, with many tracks building towards climaxes that felt obvious long before they arrived. This is particularly noticeable in the album’s latter half, where a lack of sonic variation causes some tracks to blur together. On first listen, I occasionally didn’t notice when one song had ended and another had begun. Often this wouldn’t be an issue, but when the band is taking clear inspiration from the greats of the 90s — the opening riff on ‘Best I Can Do’, for instance, is strikingly similar to Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ — it becomes one. With such obvious references, I wanted Keo to strive for more.
Put A Smile On For Me is not without its genuine heights. ‘Pistol’, ‘Spent on You’, ‘Fly’, and ‘That’s Me’ are highlights, demonstrating what the band can achieve. As someone who wasn’t particularly taken with Siren, this album left me genuinely invested in what Keo does next. It’s a promising debut, and the foundations are undeniable. I’ve heard the band thrives in a live setting over a recorded one, and that feels like something I need to experience before making a final judgement on Keo. Put A Smile On For Me isn’t perfect, but it’s promising. Keo hasn’t yet escaped the shadow of their influences, but they’ve given reason to believe that they will be a genuinely compelling rock act in years to come.
