Inner Lovetheonlyway

The music industry has been very good to Jennifer Turner. Turner got her big break as a writing partner for Natalie Merchant (around the time of Tigerlily), then had some time in the spotlight with her own band Furslide touring with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Alanis Morrissette. These days, she’s started her own record label and has a new solo project called Inner, so maybe she’s getting by on her talent instead. Inner’s debut album, Lovetheonlyway, is a departure from the music Turner’s been involved with before: the arrangements are sparser, the vocals are frequently distorted and there are all manner of drumbeats looping through many of the songs. It is almost as if there is a calculated attempt to make the songs sound slightly off-kilter, perhaps as a reaction to her time spent with major labels. It makes for an album that isn’t as immediate as some of the other music she’s been involved with, but it definitely makes for a much more interesting listen. Lovetheonlyway is not the typical album most people have come to expect from a female singer-songwriter, and that alone makes it worth a listen. Songs like the pleading "Downtome” and the straightforwardly acoustic "Stories” are some of the best that she’s ever been involved with. (Caboose)