Jul 15 2008
Dri - Smoke Rings
- Artist: Dri
- Album: Smoke Rings
- Label: Range Life
- Release: 2007
- Link(s): MySpace
Smoke Rings is the solo debut from Dri, the talented Adrianne Verhoeven. Adrianne was the female lead in The Anniversary, a Lawrence, Kansas band that released two albums for Vagrant Records before breaking up in 2004. Since then, Verhoeven has split her time between Fourth Of July and Saddle Creek’s Art In Manila. Smoke Rings finds Verhoeven collaborating with a handful of local producers (Jeremy Nesbitt, Josh Powers, Patrick Hangauer, Steve Swyers). They provided the backing tracks while Adrianne supplied her outstanding vocals. The result is an album’s worth of accessible, heartfelt electronic pop that is worthy of much more attention than it has received since its late 2007 release.
Many albums that contain dance elements tend to stray from being too emotionally open, but there is a refreshing vulnerability in Verhoeven’s voice that proves to be an exception. This is reflected in “You Know I Tried,” a song that has single potential thanks to Jeremy Nesbitt’s excellent production and Verhoeven’s catchy, yet longing vocals. The same can be said for “Don’t Wait,” which details a complicated relationship between two musicians. There are only one or two tracks that slip (”What’s Real” is a little underwhelming). Smoke Rings is a record that is immediately enjoyable.
One of the strongest examples of Verhoeven’s vocals comes on a cover of Les Paul & Mary Ford’s “Smoke Rings,” the closing track and inspiration for the album title. You would think that a cover of a country song from the early 50’s would sound out of place on a record like this, but Verhoeven nails it, bringing a satisfying conclusion to her first solo release. In the past, Verhoeven has just been part of the band, but now she’s the one leading it. She has no trouble stepping into the spotlight on Smoke Rings. I would gladly welcome another album from Dri in the future.