In Nov. of 2024, Tate McRae announced the release of her next album, So Close to What, as well as the coinciding Miss Possessive tour coming later this year. As a fan of McRae since her competitive dancer days, I was thrilled to hear we are getting new music again, especially since her team has seemed to master modern album roll outs. And of course, I immediately bought tour tickets since I missed out on her last one, so I went into this album cycle with high hopes that it would hit just as hard for me as Think Later did.
I would like to start by saying I did not listen to any of the album leaks, except for the snippets put out by McRae herself. The lead singles also really sold me on the concept and sound of this album. Upon the initial snippets for all three of the singles, “It’s ok I’m ok”, “2 hands”, and “Sports car”, I was not particularly fond of any of them. However, once the full tracks dropped and I could hear the whole production and story come together, I obsessively blasted all three. Of these singles, the dance-pop hit “2 hands” was my favorite, and the vibe I was hoping the rest of the album would convey.
McRae also dropped snippets of other tracks on the album prior to the release, including “Dear god”, which I also liked, but expected to enjoy more with the full album release. Overall, I expected the same vibe of her previous hit music that grows on you with each listen and you can blast in the car or at the pregame. Lastly, before we get into my thoughts, I have always found that my opinion on an album changes after several days of really digesting the content, especially as a lyrics girl. Now that I have given myself ample time to think about the new tracks, I am ready to give my thoughts.
For me, this album is about on par with Think Later. I think this album is overall better in quality, but I found myself returning to many more songs on Think Later than I have been on So Close To What. For me, aside from the singles, which are some of the best songs on the album anyway, my favorite songs turned out to be “Miss Possessive”, “Greenlight”, and “Nostalgia”. “Miss Possessive” is a strong and fun opener, and while it doesn’t do anything for introducing the album as a thesis song, it is still a bop. “Greenlight” has a good beat and relatable lyrics, and for some reason really clicked with me on first reason. Lastly, “Nostalgia” hits me right in the feels as a senior reflecting on my college experience, especially the people I have met or lost along the way. Just short of my top three, mostly because we had already heard the majority of the song, is “Dear god”.
Aside from these songs, this album is otherwise fairly forgettable, but I still jotted down some notes on my opinions to include in this article. Some other fun songs on the album that I enjoyed, but haven’t really found myself going back to include “I know love”, “Signs”, and “Means I care”. I also have heard lots of praise for “Purple lace bra”, which was not one of my favorites, but I still enjoyed. The production was Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman coded and the lyrics certainly had me gagged!!
The collabs in this album were fine, but nothing special. I thought the collaboration with The Kid LAROI on “I know love” was so sweet, but felt like it was made for radio success, not to be an actually complete and interesting song. “bloodonmyhands” left me disappointed on my first listen, as I am a big fan of both Flo Milli and Tate McRae. Since the release, I like it a little bit more, but it may be the second weakest song on the album to me (“Like I do” takes the cake on that one)
As for why this album is forgettable, I found that controversial pop-culture influencer The Swiftologist stated it best on his TikTok reviewing the album. She is so close to having her own story to tell, and is making terrific music, but it is still just shy of having her own distinct voice and message that stands out from the other main pop girls. She has grown so much as an artist, but it is time for her to take a risk and do something creative.
Overall the album was well done, but practically white noise in the space of pop right now, considering the very strong drops we’ve had over the last year from other popular artists. I think the singles were excellent, but also left me disappointed when the rest of the album wasn’t as good. I am still excited to see her on tour this summer, but am also praying she throws some older music on the set list to keep me engaged.