Chris Blackwood's "Tantalus" is a modern myth in song

We last heard from Knaresborough's own Chris Blackwood a minute ago, in fact, in 2017. However, recent efforts, such as his new single, "Tantalus," suggest that the time off has only sharpened his keenness as a songwriter and deepened his artistic voice. The Dylan-leaning troubadour has evolved into something more individual, more layered, and possibly more tragic, in the best sense of that word.

On "Tantalus," Blackwood ushers us into the shadowy, soul-searching corner of the human psyche, mingling myth and meaning with a soundscape that's warm, weary, and quietly profound. There's still a DNA flicker of folkicking, the Dylan influence lingers, but it has been tempered by something more grizzled, more Northern, more entirely personal.

The song's bit of lyrical heart pounds around the Greek myth of "Tantalus," the doomed figure forever reaching for fruit he can never hold. It's a potent metaphor, and Blackwood uses it to explore a far more contemporary suffering: self-sabotage. "The narrator sees what he wants: love, connection, meaning, but something inside him thwarts it and makes it always out of reach," Chris writes. 

But "Tantalus" isn't just conceptually rich; it's an utterly listenable track. The arrangement sounds spacious rather than overblown, acoustic roots leafing into cinematic depth. And then there's the video: a brutally simple, black-and-white clip of a fatigued figure drinking and chain-smoking in front of the telly, defeated. And the fact that it was shot the day after surgery merely ramps up the raw, lived-in authenticity of the performance.

 "Tantalus" does not come across as a clever idea wrapped in myth, but as an experience lived in, attire adorned with ancient metaphor. Taken from "Tantalus Unbound" (due April 11, 2025), the single sets a high standard for what's to follow. If the rest of this album holds this kind of depth and clarity, we're in for something special. "This is the best thing I've ever created," as Chris says, and it's tough to dispute him on this count.