Dia Frampton
Red
Universal Republic
Here is the problem with Dia Frampton: we want all of her songs to sound like her breathy rendition of Kanye West’s “Heartless.” Hell, all 10 tracks on her debut album could be “Heartless” and I honestly don’t think I would care. Well, Frampton’s album is out with 10 brand new tracks, just after the actual winner of The Voice, Javier Colon, and on the same label – kids, sometimes it pays to come in second place.
Where does Frampton fit in by today’s mainstream radio standards? She’d probably plop somewhere on adult contemporary. They’d play the crap out of her on Detroit stations like 100.3 WNIC, 96.3 DOUG and whatever the heck 93.1 is these days. Despite one song, “Don’t Kick The Chair,” featuring Kid Cudi, it just misses the “cool” mark. And no doubt her track with Blake Shelton, “I Will,” will be a favorite among his fans and country music fans alike. Her problem is placement. She’s a young girl with a sweet, bubblegum voice that is singing songs meant for people older. This might not be what she’s aiming for, but, let’s face it, kids these days (myself included) aren’t really interested in moral stories imbedded in their tunes.
Now, for the tracks. “Don’t Kick The Chair,” “The Broken Ones” and “I Will” all sound like they should be included on a Christian compilation; they’re all about overcoming obstacles and all that jazz, being there for your friends. “Good Boy,” “Isabella,” “Walk Away” and “Billy The Kid” are stories, they have nothing to do with Frampton herself. They were just nice stories she felt like telling to pass the time.
The end of Red is honestly the best of Red. “Daniel” gives us a glimpse into Frampton’s life; she left a boy named Daniel and wished he would have stopped her from leaving. At last! We are getting to know Dia! But, these songs are few and far between. We get about three of them with the aforementioned “Daniel,” “Bullseye” and “Trapeze,” and perhaps “Bullseye” can only count and half a song. Apparently, someone’s got it out for her in the song. “Baby it’s a chain reaction, you’ll see/It’s a lonely, lonely world at a crazy, crazy speed.” What does that even mean? “We’re tripping high, got to hit it on the bullseye/They’ve got it out for me.” Excuse me? Who’s got it out for you? What’s with the bullseye? She can’t possibly be talking about fame or paparazzi, not yet. She’s barely had a taste of fame and all of a sudden “they’ve got it out” for her? Silly, just silly.
Production on the album remains solid, with Kid Cudi, Isabella Summers of Florence + The Machine, Mark Pontius of Foster the People, Meg White and others lending a band. (While Meg White is oftentimes included in the list of producers, I’ve yet to find which track she actually contributed to.) It’s an unfortunate case of having the right talent with the rights production backing it, but not having the guts to lay it all out on the table. Not everyone has to be Adele or Corrine Bailey Rae and write about heart wrenching life experiences, but at least let the listener get to know you.
That Music Writer Girl 