By Joy Paola

I first fell for Tate McRae’s music when I heard her sophomore record THINK LATER— a concept album about the aftereffects of fame and reinventing yourself, culminating in a realization that stardom isn’t everything you dreamed. From there, I explored older songs like ‘rubberband’ and ‘feel like shit’. What drew me to her artistry was her ability to convey complicated emotions through her voice and movements, as she’s also an accomplished dancer.

However, I always felt that critics and reviewers misunderstood Tate’s lyricism or the meanings of her songs, dismissing them as shallow or even forgettable. Which is why I’m so glad that we now have a dazzling new album that showcases even more of Tate’s skill. 

So Close to What, released in February 2025, encompasses a wider span of sounds and styles than Tate’s previous music. Because Tate is a dancer, there are plenty of catchy, rhythmic fills, like the repetitive vocals following the choruses of ‘Miss possessive’ or the hook of ‘It’s ok I’m ok’, which has its own dance move. We even hear some strings on ‘Purple lace bra’ that add a delicate, tragic effect, and we rarely hear Tate’s voice soar like it does on ‘Siren sounds’. On ‘Sports car’, Tate’s voice is a hushed whisper, another vocal style new for her. The whisper draws from the Ying Yang Twins’ track ‘Wait (The Whisper Song), an idea from co-writer Julia Michaels, and further pays homage to the early 2000s vibe of the record.

So Close to What doesn’t just see Tate diving into new sounds, however, it also showcases her exploration of themes she’s never previously ventured towards in her music: particularly her relationship to the media and her identity as a woman. 

The music videos for ‘Sports car’ and ‘Revolving door’ feature these themes, and I’d argue that the videos are essential to thematically understanding So Close to What. ‘Sports car’ features Tate visiting different rooms, each with a different version of herself, and watching that character before she is presented to the media. The music video, she explained, was her way of taking back control and asserting that she gets to see these different personas before anybody else does. As Tate has stated in an interview, the symbol of a sports car “reminded [her] of that feeling of love, and like you are right in the middle of it”. However, in the music video, Tate becomes the sports car, as she’s on display.

‘Revolving door’ is about Tate’s experiences returning to the same people and places in her life, and begins by talking about a relationship that she always comes back to. What I love about this is how on the title track of THINK LATER, she sings, “Met you at a night out in Boston”. Interestingly, on ‘Revolving door”, she confesses, “I still think ‘bout that night out in Boston”, signifying her return to that place and person. The music video emphasizes this idea, with Tate twisting herself into choreography until the end of the video, when she breaks down in tears on the ground. She pulls herself back up and asks an off-screen crew member, “Again?” The music restarts, and we begin to understand that fame and hard work are like a revolving door as the cycle continues. This concept is even more troubling when considering how Tate’s albums have been released extremely close to one another. Thankfully, Tate has addressed the mindset that helps her enjoy the work.

The only way to enjoy any of this is if you fall in love with the process of it,” she stated in an interview. “I love being on tour, I love writing music, I would choose that even if it wasn’t my job.”

‘Purple lace bra’ is possibly the darkest point of the album, as Tate ponders over the media’s sexualization of her, with lyrics like “You only listen when I’m undressed” and “Did my purple lace bra get your attention?” This theme reminded me of Clairo’s ‘Blouse’, another sad song that comments on how it feels to only be paid attention to in a professional setting when you’re sexualized.

There are brighter moments of the album as well, though. Tracks ‘2 hands’ and ‘I know love’ also signal new territory for Tate, because they’re pure, happy love songs. ‘I know love’ is especially cutesy since it features her boyfriend, the Kid Laroi, and the two artists talk about their relationship in the song. It’s nice to hear a happy song from Tate, as many of her songs discuss heartbreak. 

To me, So Close to What proves that Tate is further coming into her own identity as an artist and exploring her work in a way that’s authentic and maybe even new to her. I’ll be eagerly waiting to see Tate’s next moves.

Joy Paola is a second-year student studying Science and Arts. She loves to write, draw, listen to music, and create playlists for her friends.