Release Date: Dec 6, 2011
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: Republic
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Review Summary: While Red is a million miles away from the DIY recordings of her past, it is still undeniably Dia FramptonDia Frampton has an extended story on her blog that covers her entire life. It’s a long, rambling piece that lacks spacing between paragraphs and was definitely written in a stream of consciousness manner. It doesn’t matter, though, because she lays everything out superbly and the various emotions are imparted with ease.
Vocalist Dia Frampton's 2011 major-label debut, Red, is a sweet, melodic, and pop-oriented affair that builds upon her second-place finish in the 2011 season of NBC's The Voice. With a vocal quality that brings to mind a mix of the indie pop sweetness of Sixpence None the Richer's Leigh Nash with the earnest exuberance of country-pop star Taylor Swift, Frampton is a likable and familiar presence on record. Tracks such as the leadoff "Don't Kick the Chair" featuring rapper Kid Cudi and the rambling folk-rocker "Isabella" have an alternative singer/songwriter meets electronic pop vibe that fits nicely along with such similarly inclined artists as Ellie Goulding, Lights, and Alex Winston.
Dia Frampton received an unexpected career boost after appearing on singing-competition show The Voice over the summer. Although she and sister Meg are still plugging along under the moniker Meg & Dia—they even self-released an album, Cocoon, earlier this year—the TV show put the 24-year-old in front of a much bigger (and more mainstream) audience. But Frampton’s solo debut, Red, isn’t your typical mainstream pop album, especially lyrically.
Some fans may know Frampton as the titular second half of pop-punk outfit Meg & Dia, but to most, she’s the throaty pixie who finished second on The Voice. With Red, she pledges allegiance to no single genre, flitting confidently from Blondie-style disco-pop (”Billy the Kid”) and floaty acoustic folk (”The Broken Ones”) to the kind of big-chorus country proffered by her Voice coach Blake Shelton, who turns up for a duet on ”I Will.” The result feels like a farewell to life on the Warped Tour. B Download These:Electro-funky Walk AwayMotown-y Good Boy .
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