Backing away from the introspective inclinations of Free-for-All,
Michael Penn delivers a concise and thoroughly infectious guitar pop album with
Resigned. Like most of
Penn's music, the album relies heavily on
Revolver-era
Beatles, but his melodies are uniformly tighter and catchier than before, and producer
Brendan O'Brien gives the record a crisp, attractive sound. None of the tracks initially stand out like "No Myth" or "Long Way Down," yet each song is well constructed and filled with hooks, making
Resigned a terrific third album from
Penn. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine