Tate McRae is “So Close” to cementing herself as one of the main pop girls. While her singles “Sports car,” “It’s ok, I’m ok” and “2 hands” promised a show-stopping album, the album’s final release fell short.
McRae released her third and highly-anticipated studio album, “So Close To What” on Feb. 21, following a massive album release party at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
The album clings to some standouts. “Miss possessive,” already a fan favorite, opens the album with an iconic intro from Sydney Sweeney, who says, “Get your hands off my man.” “Revolving door,” “No I’m not in love” and “Purple lace bra” also live up to the promise of the album. With its dark, layered beats and voicemail blended into the song, “Like I do” stands out from McRae’s previous work. “Signs,” “Greenlight” and “Dear god” come close with their catchy melodies and clever lyrics but present nothing listeners haven’t heard before.
It’s hard to follow her second studio album “THINK LATER” — a pop masterpiece. Unlike “THINK LATER,” “So Close To What” is not a no-skip album. McRae collaborated with boyfriend The Kid LAROI on “I know love,” which contains a catchy chorus, but quickly gets annoying upon further listen.
Additionally, “bloodonmyhands” (feat. Flo Milli) is objectively fine. Milli’s verse, though catchy, and independently good, feels out-of-place in the song.
McRae ends the album with “Nostalgia,” a reflective pop ballad reminiscent of her last album’s closing song “plastic palm trees,” a metaphorical masterpiece also fragrant of nostalgia and introspection. Both songs touch on regret for the past and coping mechanisms.
In “Nostalgia,” McRae sings, “Every time that I drink, any heart that I break, it’s a truckload of regret and stupid mistakes, and, man, lately I wake up feelin’ like “Oh, where does the time go?”” In “plastic palm trees,” she sings, “Now I go out with my new friends to a party downtown in a new dress, ’til the liquor runs out, every weekend, go out with somebody new … You could say that all my dreams came true, Oh, what an underwhelming view,” and later in the song, “It’s not how it used to be, staring at plastic palm trees.”
While all of the songs on “So Close To What” were catchy, only a few stood out as remarkable. However, McRae’s vision seeps through the music video for “Revolving door,” which she released along with the album. Her stage presence and dance moves put her at the top of the list for pop stardom. Influenced by Britney Spears, McRae brings back a type of star audiences haven’t seen in a while.
With so much time spent in the dance studio growing up, it tracks that McRae envisions her songs for stage performance. While the album doesn’t alter the world of pop music, McRae’s Miss Possessive Tour performances certainly will.
3 revolving doors out of 5
