I admit, when I first heard the song “We Are Giants” when it was released last spring 2014, I wasn’t entirely impressed.

I first stumbled on Lindsey Stirling‘s dubstep-violin musical fusion with her song “Crystallize,” which went viral back in 2012, and I loved seeing a badass female instrumentalist making her own kind of music audible to the mainstream market.

When I heard Dia Frampton (Meg & Dia, Archis, The Voice) collaborated with Stirling on a new single, I–as any devout fan–heeded to take a listen. Frampton’s usual folksy, pop-rock voice on a dubstep track was weird to me at first. I was used to her sometimes raspy, other times whispery voice singing stripped down rock and folk tunes.

For the first time in more than a year since this song was released to the world, the song makes sense to me.

Upon watching the video for “We Are Giants,” which Stirling released today, the entire theme, with its bubbly-pop electronics, warping synths and rhythmic violin melodies, made sense.

In the video, we are opened up to another world–that is, the video game world. The entire aesthetic of the music video pays homage to Japanese animation/anime (directed by Bryan Chojnowski and Grant Olin). The world is colorful and follows a backpack-wielding creature-hat-wearing superhero-girl (who we can only assume is Stirling herself), discovering a world in which she keeps getting beat down by other “giants”–corporate giants and other literal giants.

As Frampton’s songwriting has always had a soft spot in my heart, she often writes about struggle and overcoming differences.

The lyrics, “Do you feel like you’re second-hand? / Do you feel you’re afraid to stand alone? / Cut away every safety net / Live your life so you won’t regret the road” are empowering.

At first listen, the song itself doesn’t seem to hold onto much but, the music video gives stronger, perhaps new meaning to the song.

We are taken on a journey where the superhero-girl tries to stay strong amidst all the struggle and chaos happening over the city. The giants are fighting, the city is crumbling, and the girl has only herself, her super fruit and a new sidekick friend who helps her along the way.

This perfectly encapsulates the spirit of what Frampton tried to portray with her songwriting. Her whispery, angelic voice gives the song a poppy innocence, while Stirling’s violin echoes provides emotional tension. The dubstep beats that progress give the song a sense of triumph and momentum, which suits the entire video game atmosphere. It makes the video so darn enjoyable and exciting.

So take a seat and join Stirling and Frampton on the way to taking over the world in this new video! With all the monsters and giants wreaking havoc over the city, be a superhero, take your super fruit, and know that we are giants, too.

And wise words from Frampton: “Raise your flag; Let your voice be heard / Put your heart into every word you say / All your failures’ a cornerstone / Build a house with the things you’ve thrown away”

And thoughts? I thought Stirling made one super cute superhero in this video!

LINDSEY STIRLING:
http://www.lindseystirling.com
https://www.facebook.com/lindseystirlingmusic
https://twitter.com/LindseyStirling

DIA FRAMPTON:
http://www.archismusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/DiaFramps
https://www.facebook.com/Archismusic
https://twitter.com/DiaFramps