B-Side Guys

Reeya Banerjee has discovered that transformation requires both arrival and departure, where the act of being seen fully becomes inseparable from the eventual necessity of leaving. “For the First Time” operates as both celebration and elegy, documenting the moment when self-discovery collides with the temporal nature of the circumstances that made it possible.

The Pushcart Prize nominee brings her literary sensibility to what could have been a simple romance, instead crafting something that reads like a short story set to music. Her narrative approach reflects influences from Springsteen’s storytelling tradition while maintaining the intimate scale necessary for such personal revelation. The track’s indie rock foundation provides structure without overwhelming the delicate emotional archaeology Banerjee performs throughout.

Her exploration of place as catalyst feels particularly contemporary, where geographic displacement becomes psychological transformation. The Catskill setting isn’t just backdrop but active participant in the narrator’s evolution, suggesting that sometimes we need to physically move to discover who we might become. Banerjee’s vocal delivery carries the wonder of someone experiencing their own capacity for openness as if for the first time.

What makes “For the First Time” compelling is its acknowledgment that profound personal growth often occurs in temporary situations. The juxtaposition between feeling fully seen and knowing departure is inevitable creates tension that drives the entire emotional arc. Banerjee understands that some forms of love and self-discovery are inseparable from their own endings.

From her upcoming album This Place—described as a journey through the geography of identity—”For the First Time” establishes Banerjee as an artist capable of finding universal meaning in deeply specific experiences. She’s created something that functions as both personal memoir and collective recognition, proving that sometimes the most lasting changes happen in places we can’t stay.