When I was in the third grade I drew a picture of my dog, Dexter. I colored his body blue and drew him a large heart-shaped pink head. My teacher was furious. She said something about the impossibility of blue dogs and went into some metaphorical sermon about how 'there are two types of people in this world, the ones who draw inside the lines, and the ones who don't."

Jennifer Terran is a musician who follows no rules. She paints her carefully executed songs outside of conventional lines and is either not phased, or simply ignores what "type" of singer she should be. "CRUEL" is a debut effort by this Santa Barbara based artist, and it is a damn fine display of creative freedom at its best.

'Lovers in bliss illusion, afraid to fart, you can't let that other see you without your make-up on", she sings over her slow piano suite in the song "Fat." Terran belts out her fabulously absurd lyrics with style, sometimes sounding like a mix between PJ Harvey and Tori Amos. However, there is little else on "CRUEL" that can be compared to anybody else.

Most of the fourteen tracks on the disk have no choruses and no formulaic structures, which is part of Terran's charm. There are some beautifully composed songs, such as "Her Fall" and "Music Happens Before the Words" which is a haunting piece ending with a violin solo and Terran whispering "If I can make you I can break you."

Terran is a classically trained pianist and she uses her instrument to highlight her unique ability to construct songs that are both striking and strange. The best example of this odd juxtaposition is in the song "Trader Joe's" (yes, that grocery store in Capitola with the schmalty beer.) Terran plays her piano, accompanied by some upbeat bass, as she sings "Trader Joe's, do you see how he brings up together/ at Trader Joe's, it's just a buck for a pound of butter." It's weird, but it works.

Listening to Cruel was an orgasmic auditory experience. Sometimes Terran sounds like a spiritual pop-folk goddess, and at other moments she comes off like a wide-eyed town freak. But, it always sounds beautiful. You've gotta listen to it to understand. I did several times, and I will never be ashamed of drawing blue dogs again….