Lindsey Stirling, “Duality.”

Duality, the seventh album by Lindsey Stirling, is less about opposing forces – queens/fairies, serenity/surrender, purpose/untamed – and more about the spaces between them. It’s a collection of moments that work collectively to create a bit of what you might think of as world building. That is, they introduce us to settings and landscapes that, over the 40 minutes this album spans, will be tested, modified and revisited.

More of a pop-leaning album than what might be expected from a traditional classical crossover, Duality can also be seen as only half of the experience Stirling has spent the last decade building. That is, if you only listen to the 14 new tracks (12 from the album plus two bonus), you never see the choreography that Stirling’s 14 million YouTube subscribers have come to appreciate. Luckily, there are already two new promotional videos available – “Eye of the Untold Her” and “Inner Gold” – and a Duality tour ready to kick off in July.

Duality is also very much an album about the moment. Most of the tracks clock in just under four minutes – traditional pop/rock length. Most of them, minus the bonus ones, seem connected thematically, as if they are chapters leading toward a particular symphonic denouement. What Stirling has created is less a series of episodic pieces and more a volley of scenes that build off one another.

The opening tracks lay the foundational motifs for what comes later.

On “Eye of the Untold Her” and “Surrender,” we are guided by intense percussive elements, explosive electronica, and of course, Stirling’s hallowing violin. “Eye” is almost cinematic, filling us with the sensation that we are riding on the wings of a phoenix, staring down through the clouds, barely able to see what is below. And when the phoenix bows and dips and finally leaves us on the ground, it is “Surrender” that allows us to be seduced by what is in front of us. A forest we are nervous to enter? A pond we are hesitant to approach? The aching vocals suggest whatever it is we encounter will most certainly be a version of ourselves. (Surrender to yourself, maybe?)

And though we might think that “Serenity Found” is the place to break or to meditate, the tense pacing and the almost concussive change in mood all seem to continue traveling the land we have just been delivered into. In other words, it does not at all seem serene.

If there is a place where this world building is less present, it occurs on the tracks with guest vocalists. Certainly, “Inner Gold,” featuring Royal & the Serpent, is the hit of the album. It’s a decadent track that can and should be played at any international fashion show. “Survive,” featuring Walk off the Earth, is one where Stirling’s violin seems to all but disappear – perhaps giving her room for her own dance solo. “Unfolding,” featuring Rachel Platten, has the feel of an uplifting pop anthem.

While you may need to see Stirling perform to appreciate the full scope of her music – and this can be said of any musician — you don’t need the full experience to appreciate what Stirling has accomplished on this album. Her music deals in dramatic progressions and, for lack of a better expression, cinematic catharsis. Duality should not be relegated to music one simply listens to while exercising at the gym or dancing in a club — although you also should listen in those spaces. It’s an album that is very good at bringing you to another space.

This is where the core of Duality exists — not as much in the back and forth between musical scales or the different elements of each individual track, but in the balance. In the moment between the moments, as it were.

Follow Jesse Herwitz at Twitter.com/JesseHerwitz and Instagram.com/JesseHerwitz.