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Jul 26, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Dylan Law

Massachusetts singer/songwriter Billy Keane debuted last year with his full-length record, Too Much to Let it Go, showing off sunny stylistic shades pulled from folk, Americana, heartland rock, and country. He has since returned last month with a new single, “Fresh Flowers,” the first taste of his forthcoming sophomore album, Oh, These Days, out on September 8th. Ahead of the album’s release, Keane has also shared another new single today, “Halo,” premiering with Under the Radar.

Like “Fresh Flowers,” “Halo” sees Keane tapping into a sun-lit and rollicking style of heartland rock. Driving guitar work and a propulsive drumbeat form the core of the track, while Keane colors in the margins with rousing vocal harmonies, lustrous bursts of horns, and soulful organ tones. It’s an infectious folk rock rave-up, pushing forward with irrepressible energy and sincere charm. Meanwhile, Keane’s lyrics take a personal angle on questions of spirituality and faith, with Keane decrying the dogma of control and judgment that often defines religion, and instead settling into his own human imperfections.

He explains of the track, “‘Halo’ is a direct confrontation with the notion that one’s spirituality must be contained within the parameters of a defined religion. Although I have a deep respect for religious tradition, rite, ritual, and the community religion can bring to a person’s spiritual world, I also acknowledge that religions seem to have a tendency to begin to warp until the weight of their own loftiness, and that warping begins to look like judgment, exclusion, fear, and oppression. When religion bullies spirituality out of the way, you have to decide which of those two journeys will lead you closer to the place you feel inside of you.

I am a person who believes strongly in the spiritual reality of life, and I try to exercise my spiritual muscles like I would my physical body or my mind. I also have no intention of allowing religion to get between me and my spiritual life. The ‘halo’ in this song (‘No there ain’t no halo hanging over my head’) refers to both the false notion of spiritual perfection, and also represents the control religious dogmas sometimes attempt to obtain over people. Neither of those two things appeal to me very much, hence the quote.”

Check out the song below. Oh, These Days is out everywhere on September 8th.