This is fine stuff. Nikoli can stand up with today's best and be counted, measured, weighed and purchased.Title track "Resigned" has gloriously big guitar lines, a strong simple melody and a well nailed-down memorable chorus. There's plenty of sonic decoration based on extensions of the guitar sound. Maybe it's a bit light in the percussion section. But it has authority and an ambitious scale that makes a confident approach to anthemic status. It's easy to see why it gets pole position and main EP title credit.
"The People" has a folksy start but it's not as crisp as it needs to be to go the full cranberry. You could call it indie whimsy if you wanted to be unkind - with its lapses into verbal cliché ("Public execution, public retribution. / All part of the confu-oo-sion ..." all a bit descending minors) . But it's a quiet moment in the set, and I think it's OK.
"Sandstone" has another acoustic opener, in pre-OK Radiohead style. But it lightens up quickly and even gets a bit of a rollick going. There's a good burbling bass and slapped drum sound and a sweet tune that works really well. It's a bit of a stand out track, showing off a band doing just what it needs to carry the natural-sounding song. Pop radio beckons.
"Let Down" has even more acoustic guitars in the intro. There is a distinct Lloyd Cole ring to this one, with some effective harmony reinforcement on "I've been let dooooown" that does that clever thing of cheering up a miserable feeling to the point where you FEEL GOOD about the whole sorry business. I like that a lot. Nikoli advertise four vocalists, and I'd like to see them working on the potential shown here - vocal coaching, hours of practice, turning out for the local gospel choir for a few years and so on ... the premiership beckons.
