Tate McRae’s third studio album, “So Close To What,” released on Feb. 21. This is certainly her best record to date. With a 46-minute runtime and 15 tracks, McRae takes us back to an era of Y2K dance pop inspired by Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls. Even though the individual tracks host rather short run times — the longest track is three minutes and 11 seconds — McRae’s album is a solid pop effort that brings her “so close to” main pop girl status… but she’s not quite there yet.
It’s apparent that McRae’s producers wanted to lean into her strengths and leave the moodiness of previous albums behind — the right move. “Miss possessive,” “Purple lace bra,” and “Sports car” are standout tracks to me. “Miss possessive” has some fun vocal manipulation, solid trap beats, and an extremely catchy hook, making it a great opener to the album. “Purple lace bra” incorporates some strings, a dreamy and whispery chorus, and is overall reminiscent of Lana Del Ray. “Sports car” is genuinely the best song in McRae’s entire discography. The hook, the whispering chorus, the glitchy production, and the sultriness of it all are incredibly good.
The production is probably the album’s best quality. Each song is sleek, clean, and carefully crafted to have McRae sounding her best. While it does sound great, I honestly wish they would’ve made things a bit messier to add to the Y2K vibes. Some dry vocals could’ve added nice texture to tracks like “2 hands,” which is a solid song yet is so worked over that it’s almost sterile.
I also appreciate McRae’s improved songwriting abilities, even if she could go further with it. “Purple lace bra” discusses McRae’s relationship with the media and how it oversexualizes her. “Revolving door” likens McRae’s constant return to a toxic relationship to a revolving door, illustrating how she simply can’t leave this person no matter how hard she tries. “Nostalgia” is a solid acoustic ballad that reflects upon lost relationships and discarded dreams. McRae is clearly trying to engage with more complex themes in her music.
While I personally enjoy this album, is it enough to elevate McRae to main pop girl? I don’t think so. If you’re already a fan of McRae’s, you might disagree with me. This has been her biggest album debut yet and she’s selling out arenas. Plus, “So Close To What” is just genuinely a solid pop record.
However, I don’t see this album convincing the general public that McRae is someone to watch. To me, it seems like McRae is still imitating her inspirations instead of carving out her own sound. The music is still too formulaic. After my first listen, I remember enjoying my experience, yet I couldn’t remember a single song from the second half of the record. McRae is not unique enough yet to have a breakthrough moment like Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter had in 2024.
McRae still has time to find her way — Carpenter didn’t break out into the mainstream until her sixth album — but she needs to take time off to do so. She’s released her three LPs in 2022, 2023, and 2025 respectively, and that’s not enough time between albums to find a unique sound. If McRae takes the time to sit with herself and fully ponder the artistic direction she wants to take, her eventual fourth album might finally be her breakthrough.
With all of this in mind, I give “So Close To What” 3.5 out of 5 Big Oles!
