Kevin Bronson on February 13th, 2015

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Archis are a singer/producer duo, but not the chanteuse-and-synthesizer variety that proliferate in the pop marketplace. No, on Archis’ self-titled EP, due Feb. 23 via Nettwerk, there are strings and horns involved, and it sounds sublime. The music is the latest vehicle for Dia Frampton, who emerged as a teenage wunderkind a decade ago with her sister in Meg & Dia and segued to a solo career augmented by her appearance on the first season of NBC’s “The Voice.” A solo album followed, and a second was thought to be in the works. Instead, the singer-songwriter teamed up with composer/arranger Joseph Trapanese, who collaborated with Daft Punk on the “Tron” score and with M83 on “Oblivion.” Owing to the preponderance of organic instrumentation, the EP’s six songs have a different grandiosity than Frampton’s 2011 solo album “Red.” It matches the empowering spirit of the songs, especially “Blood” and “I Need You.” On the latter, she declares, “I’ve been spit on / by the ones I thought were real,” but “… You’ll find me / American dream.”

||| Stream: “Blood”

||| Also: Watch Daniel Carberry’s video for “Blood” below: