Keeble drops debut album ‘Totemic’

Essex-based newcomer Keeble operates somewhere between the flicker of a dancefloor strobe and the haze of an anxious late-night thought spiral. He works in the blurred overlap between indie pop, psych pop, dystopian disco and what he describes as “plastic psych,” resulting in music which feels strangely reflective even at its most rhythmically focused. Presenting glitter sitting on top of emotional static, his songs shimmer brightly while quietly exposing fissures underneath.

That content forms the backbone of Keeble’s artistic vision which blends instinctive production with emotional undercurrents, creating music that feels intimate despite its scale. The atmosphere is often danceable, framing pop through distortion, bending familiar textures into something more surreal and emotionally slippery. It’s the sound of self-reflection refracted through technicolour lights playing out below subtly tarnished mirrorballs.

Now, with the arrival of his debut full-length album titled Totemic, Keeble fully introduces the scope of that vision for the first time. Across ten tracks, the record explores themes of primal instinct, transformation and identity, constructing what feels like a personal mythology informed by modern chaos. Totemic lands as a ritualistic process of emotional excavation, where each song functions as its own symbolic object or emotional marker and throughout the release, Keeble builds a sonic world filled with contradictions.

Confinement and liberation sit side by side while stillness collides with movement and rage dissolves into release, constantly bending between emotional impact and rhythmic propulsion, giving Totemic its unique and highly compelling energy. The album fuses dystopian disco grooves with warped psych pop aesthetic, balancing glossy movement while embracing emotional friction as part of the experience.

Opening track “Planes” floats forward with a jangle of tones before the steady punch of drums and bright guitar rhythms form a smooth groove that carries the listener through expansive melodic space while still maintaining the nervous tension that sits across the wider record. With Keeble’s expressive vocals gliding above with breezy melodic leads, he casts a catchy, danceable jam that’s sure to charm fans of bands like Tame Impala. “Caged” narrows the frame completely, slowing things down to a more claustrophobic atmosphere where confinement becomes both emotional and physical. The contrast between those tracks speaks directly to the album’s cenral themes, the constant negotiation between freedom and restriction.

“Bruiser” follows as of the album’s heavier emotional moments wrapped up in an enveloping soundscape of rustling drums and crashing instrumentation, leaning into force and impact, channelling the bruised emotional residue that runs quietly underneath much of Totemic. “Return to Centre” flows into a downtempo scene of elegant piano backing, softly pulsing bass and tapped percussion as Keeble’s hushed vocals drift above to craft an intimate moment on the record that distills much of Keeble’s artistic approach into a single song.

Other highlights on the album include songs like “Wilderness” which rolls further into the album’s disco-driven stylings to offer a bright and infectious pop experience. “Inertia” brings a laid back energy of pattering percussion and woozy instrumentation capped by airy vocals to deliver a thoroughly charming outing that’s impossible not to love.

“Luvvedup” brings deep vocals which contrast against the delicate arrangement, showcasing Keeble’s subtly off-kilter sound in a mellow and playful track. Closing the album with “Decibels,” he pairs the march of drums with dreamy instrumental tones while mesmeric melodic lines flicker alongside his hypnotic vocal delivery, serving up a superb finale to his incredible debut full-length record. With Totemic, Keeble introduces himself as an artist fascinated by the emotional textures hidden inside movement and sound, resulting in a debut that feels immersive, original and human all at once, an album that dances through chaos without pretending it can fully escape it.

Listen to Totemic below