Keo: “Some of my writing is becoming uncomfortable to listen to. But good art makes you feel something”

“It’s actually almost ugly how vulnerable some of these songs are,” Finn Keogh admits of his band’s output so far. “I’m trying to write things that are honest, and sometimes I think that honesty can be perceived as uncomfortable by some people. But it’s also very comforting for others.”

Even when he doesn’t have a pen in his hand, Keo’s vocalist and guitarist will happily confess to being a frank sort.

“I can’t lie at all,” he shrugs. “Sometimes I tell the truth even if it isn’t the best thing to say.”

In his music, that candour becomes even more intense, and Finn’s not one to flinch at the thought of sketching an unflattering, self-deprecating portrait of himself.

“Some people’s writing is celebratory of their personalities and their experience,” he says. “Some of my writing’s going so far the other way it’s becoming even more uncomfortable to listen to. But I think that’s good art. It makes you feel something.”

It says much that the first Keo song to catch on fire – 2025’s unvarnished, melancholic I Lied, Amber – offers a confession just in its title. Nonetheless, that open-heart-surgery approach to songwriting has certainly been a magnetic one.

The London quartet – Finn, his brother Conor on bass, drummer Oli Spackman and guitarist Jimmy Lanwern – built their fanbase in a refreshingly organic (and offline) fashion, through tireless gigging and word-of-mouth, because it was all they could rely on.

“I had no way in,” explains Finn. “I didn’t have any contacts, nor did the band. Every next gig is the biggest priority in everyone in the band’s life.”

Eventually, though, it paid huge dividends. Keo sold out London’s 300-capacity Oslo last spring before putting any music out. This March, their UK tour will conclude with not one, but two nights at the capital’s Electric Ballroom. All this before their debut album has materialised.

It’s testament to the enduring power of music in its most unadulterated form – raw, crafted for live rooms, inspiring in-the-flesh connection. That, and knowing that taking pre-moulded paths to success doesn’t have to be the only way. Neither does it have to involve dancing for the algorithm.

Finn’s drawn to music’s sense of mystery, after all. The way to know him is not through the granular details of his social posts, but the pieces of his soul contained within Keo.

“If I could do everything again, I wouldn’t even start an Instagram or a TikTok or any social fucking media, probably until two years into playing gigs,” he says. “The only thing that’s worked for us is doing things differently, just only sharing live content and letting people that come to the gigs share live content for us.

“You focus on the craft, and the rest will follow.”

Keo play Rock for People in June (get your tickets here), and Reading & Leeds in August. This interview originally appeared in the spring 2026 print issue.

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