The album includes the singles "One More Time" and "A Guy Like You", as well as three tracks first written and performed in 2006 for stage play Smaller,[1] in which Moyet starred with comedian and longtime friend Dawn French.

The play, written by Carmel Morgan and directed by Kathy Burke, was toured across the UK for six weeks before opening at West End's Lyric Theatre in April 2006.

"[9] Upon release, Chris Long, writing for the BBC Music, commented: "The Turn is no blistering return to form to sit proudly alongside the real gems of her career, but it is satisfying nonetheless, and it's a welcome reminder that Moyet still has one of the most emotive and intoxicating British voices ever.

They concluded: "The Turn's most obvious asset is its voice – but given that it's the first album of new material from Moyet in five years it fails to generate the levels of excitement we'd been anticipating.

"[15] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic felt the material on The Turn "mixes orchestrated pop/rock with a blue-eyed soul sensibility" and considered it "adult contemporary pop that's far above the usual standards for that genre".

"[11] In a review of the 2015 deluxe edition, Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War noted the album's "incredible depth of material" and Moyet's "superb performances".