Free Cell received positive contemporary reviews. Emma Madden at Pitchfork said, "the Queens musician's second album uses avant-pop songwriting to capture the nuances of tedium, to strangely captivating effect".[2] In a review for AllMusic, Timothy Monger compared the album favourably with its predecessor, saying, "Artistically, Tullgren shows a remarkable amount of growth between releases, making for a sophomore gem".[1]