21-year-old pop star and singer-songwriter Tate McRae released her latest album “So Close to What” on Feb. 25, serving her listeners a tracklist packed with catchy, fast-paced songs.
The fierce pop princess, best known for her 2023 hit “greedy,” is back with a series of similarly upbeat jams with an increase in intensity. McRae’s new album delves into the complexities of growing pains and relationships, but with a simultaneously playful vibe. Despite the album’s many iconic bangers, I found that many aspects of the album felt repetitive and ultimately fell short of my expectations.
With 16 songs in total, the album opens up with its fiery first track “Miss possessive,” which explores themes of jealousy in relationships. McRae’s breathy voice paired with an aggressive beat makes the song a fun opener, but there was little creativity in the song’s central story or lyricism. With shallow lyrics like “Just keep your eyes off him” and “Pretty girl gon’ learn your lesson,” the song is not much different from many other pop hits that we have seen before. Ultimately, “Miss possessive” did not have me in its possession.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by McRae’s collaboration with female rap artist Flo Milli in the third track “bloodonmyhands.” The song encapsulates the feeling of leaving behind a toxic relationship and moving on, with a lighthearted, danceable tune and a catchy chorus that easily gets stuck in your head. McRae’s soft, airy singing paired with Flo Milli’s sassy, slightly raspy bars makes for a perfect combination. Just like the song’s lyric goes, “bloodonmyhands” had me “dancing like I can’t be bothered.”
We finally get to see some more emotional depth in the song “Purple lace bra,” which serves as a critique of objectification in the media and dives into McRae’s turbulent relationship with her sensual appeal and self-confidence. The lines “Would you hear me more if I whispered in your ear?” and “I know that you look, but you don’t see it” (talk about great juxtaposition!) make for some of McRae’s most clever wordplay and authentic songwriting. It is safe to say this song landed McRae a spot in my Spotify playlist, as it stands out from the rest of her more surface-level work and reveals a more vulnerable side of the young artist.
Unfortunately, most of the rest of the album could not compare to or exceed the performance of “Purple lace bra” for me, reverting back to the same general idea of dealing with envy and boyfriends. Upbeat songs like “Sports car” and “It’s ok I’m ok” are hard to distinguish between and begin to blend together both in sound and McRae’s failure to step out of her creative comfort zone.
The track ended poignantly with slower-paced, bittersweet “Nostalgia,” which touches on themes of regret, loss and reminiscing of the past. Lyrics “Didn’t show up ‘til I lost ya” and “I got a lot to lose so I might as well lose it anyway” hit hard and clear with a refreshingly soft feel, capturing the feeling of sadness and longing incredibly well. Still, the song felt distant from the rest of the pop-centric album, and therefore seemed strangely out of place.
The album not only became repetitive in terms of McRae’s own discography, but also in comparison to the music of other currently big pop artists as well. “bloodonmyhands” reminded me strongly of the concept presented in “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter, and even “Purple lace bra” had evident melody similarities with the hit “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae. While it is understandable that McRae is trying to take on the latest trends, I do believe she should take more steps to discover her own voice and experiment more with her artistic style.
Overall, I would rate “So Close to What” a seven out of 10 stars. McRae had no problem with catchiness—I would be lying if I said I didn’t catch myself nodding my head along to more than half of the songs on her album. However, for such a talented young artist with an incredibly powerful voice, I am certain she could pursue a bolder approach to her music in terms of emotional complexity and honesty. I would love to see more works like “Purple lace bra” and “Nostalgia” in her career.
