Larry Flick from Billboard complimented "Relax" as a "breezy, pop-inflected houser",[1] and a "notable single-ready moment" from the Storyteller album. He also called it "lively" and "disco charged".[2] M.R. Martinez from Cash Box felt tracks like "Relax" make the album "more than a dance record."[3]James Masterton for Dotmusic deemed it as "slightly formulaic and disappointing".[4] Ross Jones from The Guardian said that Waters "delivers another of her berserkly positive electro-scat anthems, this one imploring you to kick back even when you're "mad at the world"."[5] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel described it as a "thick disco song".[6] A reviewer from Music Week gave it three out of five, declaring it as "an uplifting and catchy track with those recognisable vocals that feels as though it might be equally at home on radio as in the clubs."[7] Michael Wilson of Rolling Stone felt songs like "Relax" "are pleasant enough but don't push Waters beyond where she has been before."[8] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin viewed it as a "potential successor" to Waters' signature singles.[9]
^Wilson, Michael (August 25, 1994). "Recordings". Rolling Stone Issue 689.
^Bernstein, Jonathan (June 1994). "Spins". Spin. p. 99. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
^"Crystal Waters ARIA chart history 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 19, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.