Free To Stay
by Smoosh
  • Record Label: Barsuk
  • Release Date: Jun 6, 2006
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. The Boston Phoenix
    75
    Free To Stay is all about hyper, exuberant tunes as accessible to Kidz Bop kids as they are to parents.
  2. Pitchfork
    71
    There are shortcomings... When Smoosh are good, though, they're really good.
  3. Billboard
    70
    What helps Smoosh rise above novelty, however, is the quality of young Asya's songs.
  5. AllMusic
    70
    It's their simplicity and lack of pretense that's so refreshing to hear and what makes Free to Stay so listenable.
  6. Amazon.com
    70
    Free to Stay is loaded with complex harmonies and awesome distorted keyboard sounds (hey, this is what Quasi were supposed to sound like!).
  7. PopMatters
    70
    It’s clear that the duo’s songwriting is developing wonderfully and their chemistry and willingness to experiment with sonic trickery is expanding their sound, even while relying less on the silliness that marked their debut.
  8. Spin
    70
    Asya... has an immediate confidence, rolling through tricky time changes like Tori Amos' plucky little sister. [Jul 2006, p.87]
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  9. Lost At Sea
    70
    Imperfect as it is, you still have to admire Free To Stay as a gleeful paean to the joy and freedom of being young and a happy.
  10. Alternative Press
    70
    Shines with a matured level of song composition. [Aug 2006, p.208]
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  11. Prefix Magazine
    70
    These original songs have been influenced in many ways by what's come before (what isn't?), but they're inventive, catchy, and kick-ass enough to stand on their own.
  12. Slant Magazine
    60
    An arresting collection... The only real criticism you can level at the sisters is that about halfway through the album, everything begins to sound the same.
  13. Under The Radar
    60
    Taken on its own merits, the music stands up fairly well as piano and drum-based pop. [#14]
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  14. Delusions of Adequacy
    60
    If each track is taken on its own merits, it's apparent that these girls have real talent and there is some creative indie rock here.
  15. Paste Magazine
    60
    Display[s] a combination of openness and hookiness reminiscent of indie-minded chanteuses from Juliana Hatfield to Nelly Furtado. [Sep 2006, p.76]
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  16. Stylus Magazine
    58
    While charming, it’s still a little too forgettable to be really exciting on its own merits.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. EmmaC
    Sep 14, 2006
    10
    Smoosh is AMAZING. There are no other words for it. No others.
  2. HayleyS
    Jul 9, 2006
    10
    Brilliant Songs. A wonderful second CD Release of Smoosh.
  3. ChadS
    Jul 8, 2006
    8
    Ben Lee's "Grandpaw Would" was a nice album, but none of the songs made me forget that he was all of fifteen. That is not the case here. Ben Lee's "Grandpaw Would" was a nice album, but none of the songs made me forget that he was all of fifteen. That is not the case here. The ages of these two girls become irrelevant before the first track is over. "I Would Go" and the title track ooze with charm; sweet, but innocuously so. There's wit, too, as much wit as a twelve-year-old girl, and then some. The album's only misstep, I think, is the guitar on "Waiting for Something". They have all the time in the world to expand their sound. I also like how they go Neal Sedaka on us, and offer an alternative version of "Gold". Smoosh is not a novelty act.… Full Review »
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