SMOOSH
Free to Stay
Barsuk
· This Seattle outfit was originally called Smush, but people kept mispronouncing the name.
The synth-drum duo of Smoosh may tour with Pearl Jam and get music lessons from Death Cab for Cutie, but does Free to Stay stand on its own, or does it rely on their hipster cred and the fact that the members are only 12 and 14 years old?
Their debut, She Like Electric was as fuzzy as it was exuberant, with big, clumsy riffs, sugar-sweet vocals and a lyrical savvy that belied their years. Free to Stay seems to have lost a little of the edge that made their debut so charming. Now, the songs shimmy along with a hint of Feist and Aimee Mann, and while musically they have grown up a bit, the end result is still immature. Still, taking two barely teens to task for being childlike is hardly fair. It’s not a great record, but these two still write better songs than most of the artists that clog up the radio. If soccer practice doesn’t get in the way, I can’t wait to see what they do on album three.
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