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Free To Stay
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Free To Stay Image
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

  • Summary: 'Free To Stay' is the second record for the indie-pop duo of sisters Chloe (drums) and Asya (keyboards, vocals), who have opened for Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam, Sufjan Stevens, The Go! Team and others, and who just happen to be 12 and 14 years old.

Critic Reviews

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. Alternative Press
    70
    Shines with a matured level of song composition. [Aug 2006, p.208]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Billboard
    70
    What helps Smoosh rise above novelty, however, is the quality of young Asya's songs.
  7. Stylus Magazine
    58
    While charming, it’s still a little too forgettable to be really exciting on its own merits.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. EmmaC
    Sep 14, 2006
    10
    Smoosh is AMAZING. There are no other words for it. No others.
  2. AdrianoC
    Jun 30, 2006
    10
    Let me change the sentence from one of the critics above: this is what perfect pop is supposed to sound like. Uncompromised yet beautifully Let me change the sentence from one of the critics above: this is what perfect pop is supposed to sound like. Uncompromised yet beautifully done, with some surprising melancholic moments. One of the best albums of 2006 so far.… Expand
  4. DanielS
    Jun 18, 2006
    10
    Perfection! As simple as that, really.
  5. HayleyS
    Jul 9, 2006
    10
    Brilliant Songs. A wonderful second CD Release of Smoosh.
  6. JD
    Jun 15, 2006
    9
    They have some suprising hooks. I like this album more and more. I'm changing my vote from eight to nine.
  7. 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.… Expand
  8. MattD.
    Jun 14, 2006
    5
    Actually, I'd give it a 5.5. Smoosh has talent, and they are heading in an interesting direction, but their youth and inexperience make Actually, I'd give it a 5.5. Smoosh has talent, and they are heading in an interesting direction, but their youth and inexperience make only some songs enjoyable. I think critics giving it good reviews are influenced by the fact that Smoosh is indie.… Expand

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