Chris Blackwood's "Daytime TV" turns melancholy into magic on the path to freedom

The Knaresborough-born singer-songwriter returns with "Daytime TV," a lush, introspective indie rock tune that's both thoughtful and eerily optimistic. It comes hot on the heels of his previous release, Tantalus, and whets our appetite for his highly anticipated third LP, 'Tantalus Unbound,' due out April 18, 2025. Chris has an instinct for combining straightforward songwriting with a melodic impulse that sneaks up and sticks around. 

"Daytime TV" may sound like a lazy afternoon, but it plays like a soft revelation. With a lyrical narrative that delves into feelings of wasted time and self-doubt, Chris explores being emotionally and mentally stuck as the world continues to pass by. But here's where he flips the script: instead of wallowing in the gloom, the track soars. The instruments swell into a chorus that sounds almost triumphant, as if somebody were finally catching their breath after a long, underwater silence.

The result is a perfectly fitting sonic encapsulation of the album's central theme: the idea of "breaking free from self-imposed limits." Mining the myth of Tantalus, the Greek character doomed to try eternally and fail to reach fruit and water in front of him, Chris has "Daytime TV" epitomize that state of near-misses and staring numbly out at the world all day.

"Daytime TV" is stylistically reminiscent of the Britpop era. It could sit comfortably next to tracks from the '90s heyday of the genre, think early Blur or Ocean Colour Scene, but it is also very much at home in the 2020s indie world. With 'Tantalus Unbound' just around the corner and with a live performance booked at Headrow House in Leeds on the first date of release, Chris Blackwood is stepping back into the limelight with true purpose.