Jax Bowes
Based in Brighton and London, Jax is a freelance writer who has worked at Abbey Road Studios and been to more festivals than she can remember. She’s all about guitar music, tight instrumentals, heavy bass lines, and lyrics that carry real weight. She holds a BA and MA in Creative Writing and has worked on projects for the National Trust and the Bloomsbury Festival London. Inspired by cross-genre, she is drawn to the moments where music and meaning overlap.
‘Picture Of Health’ is a tension-heavy track with heavy guitars and a good dose of irony.
My First Time cut straight in with their new single release, ‘Picture Of Health‘. Launching into a dishevelled industrial soundscape, the track feels intentionally abrasive and hard to ignore, hitting you with force as guitars and the bass grind into something raw, unstable and immediately absorbing.
Sonically, there are familiar shadows here. You can hear the tension-heavy drama of Royal Blood combined with the weight of Softplay. The guitars and bass grind and lurch with a sense of self-destruction set into the tone itself, wearing the music down in real time. It’s physical, uncomfortable, and deliberately so.
Lyrically, denial sits at the core. References to Wuthering Heights add irony, clashing against the track’s harsh exterior and sharpening its commentary. It’s a clever contrast, romanticism brushing up against decay, especially as the song interrogates the idea of being a ‘Picture Of Health‘. Who defines it? Who benefits from it? And at what cost?
There’s an intriguing pause partway through the track that challenges reality through a whimsical tone, punctuated by references to cocaine and gun-loading sound effects. It’s disarming, fleeting, and deliberate, before slamming you straight back into its heavy guitar and bass assault. Any sense of comfort is short-lived.
What ‘Picture Of Health‘ does best is say how it is. It calls out society’s obsession and danger with performance and conformity. There’s nothing dressed up or diluted here, just sharp observation and smart songwriting. My First Time highlights the realities of now, leaving you wondering, ‘What is a picture of health?’
Listen to ‘Picture Of Health‘ here:
Catch My First Time at the following:
18th February – * Islington Assembly Hall, London (UK)
APRIL
17th April – Motel Mozaique Festival, Rotterdam (NED)
27th April – ^ Oporto, Leeds (UK)
28th April – ^ The Croft, Bristol (UK)
29th April – ^ The Shacklewell Arms, London (UK)
JULY
10th July – Mad Cool Festival, Madrid (SPA)
* Supporting Coach Party
^ UK Headline Tour