“Yeah, we loved it, but we’re all so shattered,” Keo frontman Finn Keogh said after their performance at the Louisiana in Bristol.
Speaking to the band afterwards, the common feeling was elation, but also exhaustion; it was incredibly justified. Alongside his brother Conor, Finn Keogh formed a band alongside Oli Spackman and Jimmy Lanwern. Known as Keo, they are a band merging indie rock and grunge; Fitting with the upcoming giants of the UK music scene, Keo’s sound can easily be compared to Wunderhorse or Fontaines DC. Having discovered this band a couple of years ago, I couldn’t have been more excited to see them on their first headline tour, in one of the smallest venues.
The show both started and ended with the same level of high energy; being such a small venue, it meant it got a bit warm throughout the night, though it created an intimacy I have not witnessed at many venues. Both Conor and Finn vouched for the uniqueness of the feeling on stage, but their energetic performance was kept to the level we’ve come to expect. The set opens with ‘Hands’, a fan favourite about being self-aware and realising the mistakes of your past. With an infectious riff and hard-hitting lyrics, it’s a deceiving song of energy which throws everyone into the deep end, a long-term fan or not. Bright LED strobe lights flashed with the music in time, making an amazing visual and beautifully paired with the energy of the drums.
More of my favourites followed, including ‘Thorn’, which describes the raw emotions felt towards someone you hold with admiration. From the opening line, ‘I thought I knew you, but now I see through you,’ you know you’re in for a rough time emotionally. It starts soft and begins to build into a heavy bridge where the vocals ring out over a drum fill.
The crowd, though small, had plenty of involvement and inclusion from early on, with most of us chanting and singing all the words. With little speaking between songs, the performance was 100% energy from start to finish, leaving me in absolute awe seeing songs I have played constantly, performed live, with the raw vocals and emotion. ‘Thorn’ being one of my top songs from the band, I was left with goosebumps during the opening riff, and the crowd erupted.
The band played brand new material too, showcasing what’s to come: A slower emotional song, possibly on an upcoming project? Speaking to them after the show, nothing is coming yet, as they feel they want to iron out some criticisms they felt about their previous debut EP, Siren. Another fan favourite, ‘stolen cars’, was then played. Upon seeing the acoustic guitar come out, I knew we were in for a treat. The song is a poem of pure emotional vulnerability; It’s a raw piece which discusses longing to escape a broken state of mind. Words such as ‘Arguing for my brain to make a choice, it’s all just noise’ show the desperation felt. The vocals are honest, with an unnatural tuning of the guitar making the chords stick in your brain, similar to the struggles the speaker faces in the lyrics.
The crowd roared as the opening chords for ‘I Lied Amber’ struck. We all knew it was coming, and it delivered more than I could’ve imagined. Instantly, the opening of simple guitar chords and rough, raspy vocals explores past relationships and coming to terms with your own mistakes and the reality of a situation. ‘Oh, Amber, I lied, but God knows I tried. There’s nothing calm inside of me.’ This line is a favourite of mine, and it leads into a final chorus of thick, heavy chords with an electric riff over the top, displaying the anger and regret felt by the writer. It is their most prominent song and their magnum opus, I would say.
A recent announcement of their 2026 tour has excited me and others, and I’m still on a high from the last show. They are moving on to large venues and bigger things, and they spoke about it with smiles on their faces after the show with me, despite being shattered. I may be biased due to my love for this lot, but they’re one of a kind, and they will be headlining more in the next couple of years. Get on them now, so you can say you listened to them before they hit the big time.
