Keo - Northumbria University, Newcastle

“Keo!... Keo!... Keo!... Keo!... Keo…”

…A primal chorus from a crowd animated and fervent; here in the depths of

Northumbria University’s Reds Bar, we are held firmly in the palms of Keo’s lead

vocalist Finn- at the total mercy of his transcendent and organic performance.

Emerging triumphantly on stage with arms outstretched, he is the silhouette of a

preacher at the pulpit, and we are invited to share in the cathartic release of those

tortured throes wrought by fractured relationships, leaving the night born anew as

each track from the band’s debut EP ‘Siren’ intends: “They’re a release of bottled- up

emotion. Writing them felt like confessing your sins, ready to move on.”

A truly immersive set from beginning to end, the grating, grief- fuelled vocals sought

in the instant hit ‘I Lied Amber’ paired with her brooding, grungy musical grit made

for an intense, hypnotic live listening experience, as Finn played the part of our lone

siren luring us in with lyrics which bleed both the beauty and danger of putting your

heart on a silver platter in the name of an all-consuming infatuation.

Perhaps this role was reversed at the show’s half way point, in which Finn takes a

moment to catch his breath- this time under the siren song spell of the audience-

completely in awe as we cry out a mournful “The thorn in my side / I adore watching

you cry / The love in your eyes / Like a chore.”

It is here we catch a glimpse of the band’s “made it” moment; a brief, deeply

poignant point of realisation that Finn had struck gold in translating his grapple with

self-destruction, break up and heartbreak into a language near 400 people can

understand and resonate- and he was now bearing witness to his dream coming

alive. Following a heavy summer of festival runs and their landmark BST Hyde Park

show in support of Kings of Leon, The Vaccines and Paolo Nutini- it’s only natural

that Keo are beginning to seek their ascent into stardom.

What follows remains a blur, with Keo curating a sonically cohesive set blending both

recent releases and highly anticipated hidden tracks, while extracting the raw,

visceral sounds of The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Nirvana to carve out

their own dark, unpolished and painfully honest identity.

More accurately though, Keo become most comparable to Wunderhorse in this live

performance, observed in Finn’s Jacob Slater-esque frenzied thrashing, and the

band’s melancholic delivery of the forthcoming track “Spaceman”- a number which

could be considered as the sister track of Wunderhorse’s “Superman” with their

shared isolating desire to be perceived for who you truly are.

“If I could step outside / Of my body and life for a while / I’d let it say the things / That

I won’t, I won’t” becomes the poetic epitome of Keo’s debut show in Newcastle: a

euphoric escapism; an emotionally raw unburdening.

Words - Erin Jones