Keo open up about debut album ‘Put A Smile On For Me’ at Reading 2026

Keo have spoken to NME about their upcoming debut album, ‘Put A Smile On For Me’.

Lista completa

1. Slayyyter live at Reading 2026: pop’s star du jour blasts off.
2. Maisie Peters talks third album ‘Florescence’ and upcoming The O2 headline show at Reading 2026: “I literally can’t fathom it”.
3. Geese live at Reading Festival 2026: an apocalyptic show amid a biblical downpour.
4. Dolly Parton, 1946-2026: the Queen of Country was a unifying force in a divided world.
5. For Quiet Light, duality is a fact of life: “Everything is way more connected than we think”.

Interviewed backstage at Reading Festival, shortly after their performance, brothers Finn and Conor Keogh reflected on the London alt-rock four-piece’s 2025 EP ‘Siren’, which was mostly recorded live.

Finn foi então questionado se, como autoproclamado perfeccionista, ele se sentia tentado a mexer na gravação depois. “Há a tentação,” ele disse, “mas minha ideia de perfeição, quando se trata de música, é o ponto ideal entre soar como um disco e soar espontâneo.”.

So, I don’t obsess over a glossy, perfect-sounding record.

Conor acrescentou: “Às vezes, a tomada mais bem executada não é a melhor que você vai escolher, também. É muito sobre a energia da tomada e a emoção nessa tomada.”.

Asked to pick a favourite record that encompasses those qualities, Finn immediately chose John Martyn’s ‘Solid Air’: “I think he was super-high and he didn’t care.

[But] he’s that talented and the musicians he was performing with were that talented, so it just kind of worked out really nicely.”.

Conor opted for Nirvana’s ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’, explaining: “From start to finish, [it’s] full of mistakes – but it’s those mistakes that [make it]. In ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, [Kurt Cobain] makes a pretty bad howler, but you look forward to that bit in the song.

Asked what the band could tell NME about ‘Put A Smile On For Me’, Finn said: “I can tell you loads of things about it. I love talking about it. It’s not perfect – at all – but I like the edge it has.

Nós realmente nos obsesionamos em não dar muita produção. Era mais ou menos a ideia da produção em torno do disco. Nós realmente debateríamos se uma harmonia deveria estar nele.

Keo’s ‘Put A Smile On For Me’ is due for release on September 25 via Island Records.

Reading 2026 continues today with performances from Holly Humberstone, Westside Cowboy, Loyle Carner, Violet Grohl, Florence + the Machine and Kneecap – plus a secret set from Lola Young.

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2026.

A voz definidora do mundo em música e cultura pop: revelando o que há de novo e o que vem por aí desde 1952.

When you purchase through affiliate links on NME.com, you may contribute to our site through commissions. Learn More.

NME Networks, a part of Caldecott Music Group. All rights reserved.