From the opening bars, there's an unmistakable weight to the proceedings. The guitar work is particularly striking here, weaving between melancholic fingerpicking and soaring, stadium-ready choruses with the kind of effortless fluidity that suggests a band finally hitting their stride. It's the sort of dynamic range that recalls the best of Britpop's golden era – think The Verve's more contemplative moments married to the communal euphoria of early Oasis.

Lyrically, the band explores that liminal space between endings and beginnings with remarkable maturity. The central metaphor of experiencing something "for the first time" becomes a prism through which they examine transformation, vulnerability, and the peculiar courage required to step into the unknown. There's genuine poetry in lines that could easily have descended into cliché in less capable hands.

What sets this apart from the countless indie bands mining similar emotional territory is Linkwells' refusal to shy away from complexity. The production, wisely, doesn't attempt to smooth over the rough edges – there's a rawness here that serves the material beautifully. When the chorus finally erupts, it feels earned rather than manufactured, a cathartic release that's been building from the very first note.

The comparisons to The Stone Roses that have followed the band aren't entirely misplaced – there's that same sense of bands on the cusp of something bigger, that peculiar mixture of confidence and uncertainty that marks the best emerging acts. But Linkwells have their own voice, one that speaks to a generation grappling with their own first times, their own moments of transformation.

"For The First Time" suggests a band ready to step out of the shadows of their influences and into something entirely their own. In a landscape often dominated by pastiche and nostalgia, that's no small achievement. This is music that matters – not because it breaks new ground, but because it reminds us why we fell in love with guitar music in the first place.

The single arrives at a perfect moment for Linkwells. With four singles now under their belt, international radio play across multiple continents, and an EP on the horizon, the band's trajectory feels almost inevitable. Their growing reputation for incendiary live performances and an increasingly devoted following means "For The First Time" feels less like a statement of intent and more like a declaration of arrival. One suspects we'll be hearing a great deal more from these four Malvern lads in the months to come.

"For The First Time" is available now on all major streaming platforms.