So Close to What is the latest album from the young pop princess, Tate McRae. Tate hit the scene back in 2020, with her viral single, “You Broke Me First.” Since then, she’s continued to grow into a recognizable and iconic performer of her generation. Although I’d been passively interested in her music for years, it was the release of “2 Hands” in the fall that grabbed my attention, with all of the speculation about the music video and Formula 1 (I am a huge F1 fan). An album that was forged in the aftermath of a heartbreak, So Close to What touches on feelings of growing up in the spotlight and peaks and falls relationships.
The opening track, “Miss Possessive,” immediately grabs your attention with Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeny leaving the listeners with a message: get your hands off my mind. It sets up the tone of the album so perfectly, not only thematically, but also sonically. “2 Hands” and “Sports Car” paint pictures of people so physically consumed by one another using the clever imagery of race cars and a fancy lifestyle to depict those feelings. “I Know Love” Featuring The Kid Laroi gives a little insight into Tate’s relationship with the Australian artist and “bloodonmyhands” with Flo Milli brings angelic vocals while discussing a betrayal.
The album has three standout tracks in my opinion. The first of which, “Revolving Door” discusses this cyclical trend of life that is so relatable to younger people. She describes her life feeling stuck, constantly facing the same choices and people. In the bridge, as the song hits its peak, you can hear her pain and desperation, and it so perfectly encapsulates everything she’s been telling us the whole album. With “Purple Lace Bra,” Tate discusses her relationship with the media. It calls out the standards and stigmas that have plagued young women for generations and dissects this relationship with the public she’s had since 2020. With analogies to the media being a toxic relationship, Tate forces us to hear what she’s been saying, creating this impactful moment in the album. Finally, “Nostalgia,” the album closer, brings us back to Tate’s life and childhood. She describes her relationship with her family and her parents and how it shaped her life. In an album that is so retrospective, it seems only right to conclude reflecting on where everything started. The slower track closes the album perfectly.
Unfortunately, the whole album isn’t as perfect as those three songs. As enjoyable as it is, the songs start to blend together after a while. The second half of the album is not as strong as the first half and it’s almost hard to figure out if a new song is playing or not. The sound is good, but it just feels slightly repetitive. The track list order doesn’t help either, with similar sounding songs all next to each other. With so many strong moments, the repetitive nature becomes incredibly clear.
Overall, this was a great album. It had a good number of songs but wasn’t too long. If anything, So Close to What is proof that I need to go back and pay attention to whatever else Tate has put out. Her star power only seems to be growing and I can’t wait to see what comes next for this era.
Rating: 8.5/10