Murder has always been a part of country music, but on Stefanie Joyce’s “Resurrection Day,” sometimes the person you need to murder is yourself. Joyce, who hails from the Pacific Northwest, throws joyful classic country touches into this song of rebirth and redemption.
The crackling lyrics set up a parallel between the narrator’s past and present self, setting us up for the scene of the crime. If that framing device weren’t enough to make “Resurrection Day” stand out in an overly crowded field of murder ballads, the narrator wishes for something a hardened killer rarely does: redemption, and a return to a past, naive self.
For all that complexity, the song itself is a ripper. Boot-scooting steel guitars, wide-ranging fiddles, and Joyce’s own joyful vocals call to mind ’90s country classics: as much Chicks as Cash, “Resurrection Day” is primed to be a country classic.