SRP Saturday Squeeze - Tate Mcrae: So Close to What (2025)
The 2025 studio album So Close to What was released by Canadian singer-songwriter Tate Mcrae on 21st February, and her third studio album under RCA Records.
Following the critical and commercial success of her last album, 2023's Think Later, Tate spent the last few months recording new music for her upcoming third studio album while touring for the aforementioned project at the time. A week before the concert came to a close, Tate Mcrae unveiled her third album to be titled So Close to What.
Musically, So Close to What followed the blueprint euphonically from Think Later by combining pop, dance and R&B music with Tate's contented vocal projection and versatile songwriting about discovering oneself in the areas of romance and heartbreak. Echoing the music of the 2000s, So Close to What demonstrated its vulnerability in Tate's vocals on most of the songs, particularly in Revolving Door, It's OK, I'm OK, Means I Care and Signs in which they had additional influences of mental well-being.
Commercially, So Close to What did really well and outsold 177,000 copies in the first week, cementing Tate McRae's strong reputation as a solo artist by coveting the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. It also topped elsewhere in the European and Oceania regions.
Favourite track: Blood on My Hands
Of all the tracks I recommend on this album, it's the Flo Milli-contributed hip-hop pop anthem Blood on My Hands; the lyrics depict infidelity with a drunken boyfriend while the female narrator bounces forth with a new relationship. The title of the song is a metaphor for fighting with someone; in particular, the male partner throughout the songwriting process.
In an interview with Apple Music, Tate declared that she "wanted to do a Miami bass record so bad," thus getting Flo Milli to contribute and perform her own verse alongside recurring songwriter and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder and Grant Boutin. Now if we mash it up with Drake's Rich Baby Daddy, it wouldn't make much of a difference, other than the strategy to lower and jiggle your butt.
Overall, So Close to What followed a similar pattern to Tate McRae's last album melodically and heightened the theme of self-discovery in both heartache and love, with some elements of mental issues thrown in for good measure. Despite the album's success, we hope to improve the area of her songwriting rather than the means of love and heartbreak in the next forthcoming project. Here's to the Miss Possessive concert tour coming soon.
Rating: ★★★★/85%/8.5/10