Rising pop sensation Tate McCrae released her third studio album, “So Close To What,” on Friday. Fans have been eagerly anticipating this release, especially after McCrae gained a larger following with her second album, “Think Later.”
The album’s 15 songs reinforce McCrae’s dance-pop style, with many incorporating dance breaks that extend into her visuals and music videos. Over the course of promotion, “It’s ok I’m ok,” “2 hands” and “Sports car” were released as singles, and they gained a lot of love and attention from fans.
McCrae touches on various aspects of being in a relationship and struggling with holding onto feelings for someone, even when it may not necessarily be the healthiest decision. In the first track, titled “Miss possessive,” McCrae tells a girl to keep her eyes off the man the singer is with, expressing elements of jealousy and control.
The third track, “Revolving door,” explores the cycle of continuously returning to a relationship after repeatedly ending things, shown in lyrics such as, “Change my mind so much I can’t find it / I work so much, can’t be reminded / Life feels worse, but good with you in it.”
Releasing the song alongside a music video that showcases her impressive dance skills, McCrae delves into how exhausting the cycle is and how it interrupts her life, yet she struggles to break away.
For the first time in her discography, McCrae features collaborations on two tracks, “bloodonmyhands” and “I Know Love” with Flo Milli and The Kid Laroi, McCrae’s boyfriend. This offers fans a fresh perspective, showcasing how McCrae blends her talent with artists who have distinct sounds.
The last song on the album, titled “Nostalgia,” examines a conversation McCrae had with her father about regret and fulfilling a long-lost dream, a song that she described in an interview with Apple Music as truly representative of her core self and “the most honest I’ve ever been in a song.”
In the hard-hitting and vulnerable end to the album, McCrae expresses a fear of reminiscence in lyrics like, “Oh, where does the time go? / You never really know / ‘Til you’re standing in the bathroom mirror.”
“That’s such a devastating thing, is that some people just don’t do the things that they love and are passionate about,” McCrae said in the interview. She discussed how parenthood shifts priorities and how she communicates that in her relationship with her parents.
Beginning in March, McCrae will hold her Miss Possessive Tour to promote the album, performing in South America, Europe, North America and Mexico, where fans can expect compelling performances that bring her songs to life.
As McCrae steps into this new era of her career, “So Close To What” offers a look into her evolution as an artist and her journey to becoming a pop icon.
