Review Summary: A masterfully composed album that showcases Stirling's undeniable artistic talent.
From her humble beginnings as a contestant of 'America's Got Talent,' Stirling has certainly proved her naysayers wrong in the last few years. Not only did she become a YouTube superstar in a heartbeat, but she released two outstanding albums in such a short period of time, 'Shatter Me' being the latest of said albums. Sure, combining electronic music with classical violin is a very strange thing to do, but Stirling prevails gloriously with 'Shatter Me' in a way that no one else can.
For a blend of electronic and classical violin to work, because they are such opposites in nature, there has to be great balance between the two. Without it, one side would overpower the other, thus losing the unique effect of both sounds working together in harmony. Thankfully, each song reaches a nearly perfect balance. With each track, there are moments for both the electronics and the violin to shine, and it never really feels like either side is stealing any of the attention from the other. With that being said, Stirling also managed to make each song a standalone experience. No two songs off 'Shatter Me' sound the same, meaning that you won't get bored if you sit down and listen to the album without any breaks.
'Shatter Me' is an album with very few vocal performances, with the exception of the occasional wordless backing vocals from Stirling herself. The only two exceptions are in the songs 'Shatter Me' and 'We Are Giants.' Both of the songs feature great vocal performances, and yet they don't overpower the instrumentals. While both songs are enjoyable to listen to, 'Shatter Me' is easily the better of the two. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with 'We Are Giants,' but Lzzy Hale's vocals make for a terrific complement to Stirling's composition.
At this point of a review, I would normally discuss whatever faults may lie within the album. But to tell the truth, I can't think of any. As previously mentioned, there are songs that may be better than others, but each song is great in their own way. For example, 'Roundtable Rival' is terrific in a much different way than 'Swag' may be; and while one song may be better than the other, neither is bad because of it.
It's a very gutsy and intimidating thing to call an album a 'classic.' But 'Shatter Me' is an album that I will remember for a very long time. Don't let the idea of classic violin fused with electronics scare you away, because Stirling prevails with the fusion of genres in a way that nobody else before her has, or anyone in the future could. 'Shatter Me' is not an album to be overlooked.
