As Lindsey Stirling descends from her glass prison in the music video for 'Shatter Me,' she brings forth with her the second studio album of the same name for listeners to delight in. Aptly titled, the main title track of the album sees a turn in styles for Stirling, who duets with Lzzy Hale, of hard rock band Halestorm, on the song. ‘Shatter Me’ sees Stirling and Hale deliver power-house performances as Hale triumphantly belts out her verses to the tune of Stirling’s violin beautifully, making for an incredible combination of rock, classical and dub-step. It is perhaps this track which truly commemorates the album as a whole, and for which many people will remember it for. The themes of ‘Shatter Me’ revolve around a struggle for independence, and reflect someone trying to break old habits and how difficult it can be to truly step out of your comfort zones (displayed literally through the inability to break through the glass dome that entraps Stirling in the music video) and take a leap of faith.
The first track to be released in the run up for the album, Shatter Me, was of course, ‘Beyond the Veil’ which is rather distinctive in its style, featuring short murmurs from the singer which overlay the track, whilst also laying the groundwork for Stirling’s light violin instrumentals to follow through. The beat builds up in a similar manner to previous tracks, with the dub-step beats taking over once the violin reaches its highest note, which brings the track back down to its new equilibrium. There is something remarkably peaceful about ‘Beyond the Veil’, and it is reminiscent of ‘Elements’ from Stirling’s first album, but with a more mature and developed tone.
The second ‘lyrical’ track from the album is ‘We are Giants’ which features Dia Frampton on vocals, accompanied by Stirling’s violin. Possibly a little overshadowed by the titular ‘Shatter Me’, ‘We are Giants’ is still a firm addition to the album, featuring sweet tones and light repetition of the ‘We are Giants’ as well as wistful whispers from Frampton. These are complimented by the trance rhythms and dub-step beats featured at intervals throughout the song.
Other memorable tracks from the album include ‘Heist’, an up-tempo mix of classical crossover and dub-step, which mimics its title, as it is played out with notes following in quick succession to mimic an actual heist. Building in tempo and reaching a satisfying climax, ‘Heist’ is expertly composed and executed and features breaks which allow the dub-step beats to settle in. Additionally, the airy 'Ascendance' is a moment of calm amongst the metaphorical storm of the album, which features a lighter violin sound backed up by smooth rhythms and intrinsic movements from Stirling on her violin.
Some less memorable tracks come courtesy of ‘Swag’ and ‘Take Flight’, whilst ‘Roundtable Rival’ has a strong medieval theme with heavy rock and drum beats intertwined, that listeners will either love or hate.
Overall, whilst the album contains a few memorable tracks such as ‘Shatter Me’ and ‘Beyond the Veil’, and some ‘unknowns’ that are worth listening to, there are a few tracks on the album which fail to make as much of an impact, and becoming quickly forgettable. Whilst Shatter Me is an identifiable progression on Stirling’s first album, featuring a more mature theme, which showcases her growing talent and development, it can’t help but be let down by the tracks which are not as strong (and just come across as ‘album-filler’). Fingers crossed Stirling will make it third time lucky and triumph all-round with her next studio album, should there be one.
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