Emma Swift – The Resurrection Game: Album Review

By Dominic Walsh on 17th September 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Emma Swift returns with The Resurrection Game; her first collection of original songs after her selection of brilliant Dylan covers.

Released: 12th September 2025

Label: Tiny Ghost

Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital / Cassette

EMMA SWIFT

Emma Swift is a great talent. She first hit our pages around five years ago when she released her album of Bob Dylan covers entitled Blonde On The Tracks. We loved the sounds that she created and have been waiting patiently for new material.

There has clearly been a personal journey for Emma Swift over the past few years. She has now arrived at her first set of original songs for an album…I guess this kind of makes this a debut.

NOTHING & FOREVER

Nothing And Forever introduces the album in lush fashion. Musically, lush is a key thought when it comes to The Resurrection Game. Emma’s voice lilts sumptuously and strings coat each song in varying hues throughout. There is a real classic feel; the kind you’d get from the work of Dusty Springfield or Burt Bacharach.

The Resurrection Game’s title track moves the tempo up from a canter to a swish. The drums roll and Swift sings with the intonation and emotion that endeared her so much on Blonde On The Tracks. This one feels like a Dylan song; you can feel her inspiration from previous works in the DNA of the track.

AN ALBUM THAT CUTS DEEP

Whilst you can marvel at the gossamer and glory of the arrangements, The Resurrection Game cuts deep. Swift’s personal journeys are documented throughout the album. Rumination’s on depression, regret, personal struggle, life, mortality, love and sex are all present.

No Happy Endings hurts. The lyrics ache and you can feel the yearning for happiness. Swift has an incredible voice that demands your attention. You can hear the influences of greats like Sandy Denny coursing through many aspects of The Resurrection Game.

The world’s a spinning time bomb
That there’s no denying
There are no happy endings
But baby I’m trying

Catholic Girls Are Easy feels deeply personal. Depending on your interpretation of the lyrics, this one can read in many ways. The title is suggestive and again, Emma delivers bundles of raw emotion. The piano line sits in the background as gentle synths and delicate strumming of acoustic guitars move around the mix.

On my knees at your altar
Your hands up in my hair
I’ve learned how to love
And I’ve learned not to care
I’ve spent a lifetime praying
To folks who were not there
You know they were not there

EFFORTLESS HIGHS & LOWS

Beautiful Ruins showcases more dramatically Swift’s vocal register. She effortlessly moves between the highs and lows to deliver a performance reminiscent of the great Sandy Denny.

The addition of clarinet and xylophone to Impossible Air gives a different aesthetic. Again, the classic feel shoots from the speakers, but it doesn’t feel like a re-tread. Emma Swift has a beautiful voice that will seduce even the most stony of souls.

How To Be Small brings a real fragility. The arrangement is sparse around Swift’s voice that shifts from powerhouse highs to broken lows that verge on a whisper. For You And Oblivion builds on this style.

Signing Off With Love references Maggie Nelson and Robert Lovell. Emma searches for understanding and wonder within the writers works. It feels like a bittersweet end to the album. The song is wrapped in more amazing strings that lead to a final sign off.

Meet me at the station
Where the roses are in bloom
I’ll be dressed in a dead woman’s dress
And an actresses’ perfume
With everything I own packed in a little case with wheels

The Resurrection Game can be construed in many ways – the joy of this record is that you can make of it what you wish. When you dig into the minutiae you will hear a person baring all. With naked emotion like this, it is hard not to love this record for its brutality and honesty. Emma Swift should be lauded for making such a record. The Resurrection Game is a superb collection of songs that will make the coldest of souls feel.