One thing that is a known obstacle for artists is the make or break sophomore album, but what no one talks about is the third album. The junior album, third, triplet, or whatever you want to call it, can be an even larger hurdle for certain artists. For the north of the border pop star, Tate McRae, this might just be the case. McRae gained stardom in 2016 with being the first canadian finalist in So You Think You Can Dance while also writing and releasing songs on YouTube. Since she has multi-billion stream hits like “you broke me first”, many forget how new of an artist she is, though she only had two studio albums, but now that number goes up to three. Two weeks ago, McRae released her highly anticipated next album, So Close to What, which was a critical make or break move in her career. Which way the album goes can determine everything, if she will be a stadium-selling-out artist or a 8 years of fame flame. There is only one way to determine this, which is the easiest thing ever, to actually listen to the album.
To preface this article, I would like to show my bias on previously being a fan of McRae. In 2022 I discovered her debut album, i used to think i could fly, and fell in love. Since then I have been to two of her concerts and spent way too much money on overpriced merch. There is also more to know about McRae and her newest album as a whole. There were three singles before the album's release: “It's ok I’m ok”, “2 Hands”, and “Sports car”. Then after the release, the latest single was “Revolving door”. At the start, my favorite single was “It's ok I’m ok” because of the catchy tune, girlboss anthem lyrics, and viral hand choreography. Though, when relistening to the whole album as part of my critique, I saw something deeper in “2 Hands”. The song incorporates a hyper confident pop-style arrangement, which on the outside can be seen as a bubblepop happy or sultry undercover song, but there is something so much deeper to it. McRae juxtaposes this arrangement with desperate lyrics about yearning for surface-level affection to cover up the fact that having deep traumatic heartbreak will erase all trust for future real relationships. This contrast is one of my favorites, used in hits like “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” by Taylor Swift or “Hey Ya!” by OutKast.
Delving into the heart of the album is another beast amongst itself. My thoughts going into the album would be that it would be just another Think Later, since her sophomore pop dance album followed her debut sad girl album and the newest singles reflected those from the last album. Truthfully, it was different from the last album, but not drastically, because both were following the same themes, especially musically. The themes lyrically we're very different, but not for the better. In Think Later, half of the album was the new confident “idgaf” attitude that isn't centered around men whatsoever. However, in So Close To What, though the music was very similar, the lyrics were more men centered and were mainly centered around sex or being sexy or something stupid of that sort. Recently, it seems like every female artist in the charts has to talk about how good in bed they are and how hot they look, while all the guys have to talk about how much they roll in the dough and in their Rolls. Because of how young Tate is and how wonderful her messages in her songs have been, I didn't think she'd fall into this loop, but now I'm scared it'll be even harder for her to get out. I mean, really, when did we start living in a world where it's okay for a 21 year old (basically child) to talk about her throat bleeding in her songs. I’m all for being sex positive and for women to be 1 billion times more confident and powerful than men, but this seems way too far and way too inappropriate. I mean, if us women are supposed to be stronger than men, then why does the thing we have to talk about all the time that dictates so much success in our lives subsequently relies on men. It is innately hypocritical and shows how deep the patriarchal social norms are that none of us can even see it anymore.
At the end of the line, the album was super messy, with what seemed like no complete meaning to the album as a whole. McRae said she named the album So Close To What because it represented her feelings of always working towards a goal and never quite reaching it. That title and meaning is insanely impactful, but not much reflected in the album. Before I go into the music a bit more, I do have to point out my bias for when I listen to music, the main thing I listen to is the lyrics instead of everything else in the song. After a second listen and almost two weeks of ruminating on the album, I found my ways to look past the sensual lyrics. The production was top notch, evidently the most expensive in her career yet. The pop ballad of “Purple lace bra” added with the extra oomph of hyper strings brought a dramatic intro that provided the best contrast to a darker seductive chorus. On the other side, “Signs”, had an insane never resting staccato verse that went into similarly hyper seductive choruses. There was no doubt when listening that this is made by a top tier singer-songwriter and produced by the best of the best, but there should be more than just that.
At the end of the day, I definitely know Tates worth as a singer, songwriter, producer, and musician overall, which puts a whole new standard when critiquing her music. People have been comparing her to a myriad of other artists with this new album, such as Addison Rae and Brittany Spears, but I feel like that is more of a diss than a complement. I would agree with those comparisons but I think that means that she is losing all of her originality and voice when it comes to her music. This is by far not a “bad” album per say, but I would say it is her worst. Some songs standalone are magical and wonderful, but as an album fully, it isn't the best. This is not to say that this summer and fall, Tate won't have the world at her fingertips once again in her jaw-dropping tours. I mean, I would go feral for another Tate concert myself. Who knows, maybe for a third time she will drop another album during a tour for the previous one! We're being fed for sure, and maybe her michelin star is closer than we think.
So, if you need a critique, there is someone you can call, because I am always watching over Hollywood like a hawk wearing Harry Winston.
Xoxo,
The Angeles Watcher
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