My first introduction to Tate McRae was with her 2023 hit song “greedy,” played in snippets on the radio until I promptly changed the station. I admit that I didn’t give Tate much of a chance, as I was thrown by the breathy sound of her voice. Aside from the chorus of songs like “greedy” and “exes” on her 2023 album “Think Later,” I didn’t have much exposure until listening to “So Close To What.”
Released on Feb. 21, the album covers emotions like love, including jealousy, denial and fear. The sound is very nostalgic of classic 2000-2010’s pop radio hits because of the layered vocals and loud production. The sound of this album reminded me specifically of songs of this era by artists like Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande.
This album had a good length but towards the end, it started to sound a little monotonous. While I understand that Tate McRae is an incredible dancer, and may be inclined to make more upbeat songs, I believe I would have enjoyed the album more if there were more slow songs that highlighted emotional lyrics. The slower songs stood out more among the monotony, and my favorite songs were “Nostalgia,” “Means I care” and “Revolving Door.”
In terms of vocals, I was extremely impressed by McRae’s range and found her use of falsetto in songs like “Dear god” and “Purple lace bra” extremely satisfying. However, I found that it was often difficult to understand what she was saying in many of the other songs. “Sports car” was another favorite of mine as the whispering in the chorus made for an exciting listen.
There were two features on this album, coming from Flo Milli in “bloodonmyhands,” and The Kid Laroi, McRae’s current boyfriend, in “I know love.” Both features fell pretty flat for me, adding little to their respective songs in terms of vocals or lyrics.
Overall, I found ‘So Close To What’ extremely enjoyable. It had an interesting sound and catchy songs and mature emotional messages. It was a great first introduction to Tate McRae and definitely changed my mind about her music. I can’t wait to listen to her other albums.