Jax Turcotte Isn’t Asking for Permission Anymore on “Know Me As I Am”

Let’s get something straight. Most “coming-of-age” indie projects sound like Pinterest quotes with a guitar. “Know Me As I Am” does not. Jax Turcotte walks into this release with the kind of emotional clarity most artists spend years faking. At 18, he’s not trying to sound wise. He just is. And that’s what makes this project hit harder than it should.

Sonically, it lives in that sweet spot between folk intimacy and alt-rock tension. Guitars feel lived-in, not polished to death. There’s space in the production, but it’s intentional, not lazy. You can hear the fingerprints of Roy Hamilton III keeping things cohesive without sanding down Jax’s rough edges. That balance matters.

“Season of Change” sets the tone immediately. It’s not some dramatic rebirth anthem. It feels more like a quiet, internal negotiation. The kind you have with yourself when life starts shifting, whether you’re ready or not. The vocals sit right on that line between fragile and grounded, never tipping into over-performed sadness.

Then “Concave” comes in and flips the energy. This is where the grunge influence creeps through, but it’s controlled. It captures that very specific type of teenage connection. Intense, messy, and almost guaranteed to self-destruct. The writing doesn’t romanticize it either. It just tells the truth, which is rarer than people think.

“Reverie” is where Jax leans into self-acceptance without turning it into a slogan. It’s awkward, introspective, and honest in a way that feels almost uncomfortable. Which is exactly why it works. And then there’s “Eclipse.” This one lands differently. A stripped piano ballad that could’ve easily fallen into cliché territory, but doesn’t. The context behind it changes everything. Losing a friend that young is the kind of thing that either shuts artists down or forces them to say something real. Jax chose the second. Donating royalties to youth wellness charities makes it more than just a song. It gives it weight.

Culturally, this matters because many young artists are stuck performing emotions for algorithms. Jax Turcotte isn’t. He’s documenting them as they happen. Messy, unresolved, human. This isn’t potential. This is the direction.

You’re documenting your life in real time instead of waiting for clarity. Do you ever worry about releasing songs before you fully understand what you went through? I’m not too worried about being clear or coherent, because I think creation of the songs is a necessary avenue for processing my own thoughts and feelings about a situation. I start with a general idea, but as I begin to write the lyrics, new feelings and ideas come forward that lead to both the end of the song and a better self-understanding. 

“Concave” touches on intense friendships that burn out. Do you think those connections are necessary, or just inevitable at that age? Is it possible to be both? At that age, friendships become more important as you begin to feel some independence from your parents. That’s normal and necessary. I think when kids struggle and feel misunderstood or different, they inevitably cling to one another. Although it can bring great support and mutual understanding, sometimes it can feel like you are all just keeping each other underwater.

A lot of young artists aestheticize mental health struggles. You didn’t. Was that a conscious decision or just instinct? The music itself has always been honest about my reality, which was, at one point, my struggle with mental health. I never wanted it to come across as anything besides that: it’s not something to aestheticize. I was conscious to make it known that it’s not my identity or my aesthetic.

“Eclipse” carries real-world impact beyond streaming numbers. Do you feel a responsibility now to tie your music to something bigger than yourself? Maybe not when I started, but I definitely do now. I always felt I needed a career where I could make a small positive impact. As a music career becomes more of a possibility in my mind, I have to think long and hard about how I can make that impact. Especially on a song like “Eclipse, " which is about something very tragic and something that is a very large issue currently.

You’re already evolving fast between releases. What parts of your current sound do you think you’ll outgrow first?

I think a big difference between the sound of the first EP and this one is how I wrote the guitar parts. There were more harmonic elements and riffs, more complex chords, and more dynamics. I’ve been having more fun with the guitar parts, and I think as time goes forward I’ll continue to improve and play around with that.