RCA Records
After a quick intro with the teen making goofy faces in sync with upbeat music in the background and a bright “Create with Tate” banner, the camera opens on young Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Tate McRae vlogging in her bedroom, in the car on her way home from dance practice or elsewhere. McRae’s weekly vlogs on YouTube from 2017 to 2020 were iconic. Along with showing a day in her life as a dancer, she would often do songwriting challenges, creating original songs based on a certain prompt or mood. Though unofficial and rough in quality, these songs were melodic and often featured complex rhyme schemes through relatable yet eye-opening lyrics. Since my cousin introduced me to her music in 2018, I have watched McRae grow from making songs in her bedroom with a light-up rainbow keyboard to releasing two EPs and two albums in the past four years, with two of her songs currently on the Top 50 U.S. charts.
On Dec. 8, McRae released her sophomore studio album “THINK LATER” after lead singles “greedy” and “exes” became some of TikTok’s favorite audios. The 14-track album features catchy beats and powerful choruses sure to find their way into more short-form content.
After various dance-pop tunes in the first half of the album, the second half is slower, allowing McRae’s vocals to shine through a little more
With McRae’s debut album “i used to think i could fly” featuring many emotional ballads about heartbreak and self-loathing, it makes sense that this album explores a different theme, one that is more confident and upbeat. Like hit single “greedy,” the opening song “cut my hair” is catchy and confident, but brings a classy melody that makes it one of my favorites.
After various dance-pop tunes in the first half of the album, the second half is slower, allowing McRae’s vocals to shine through a little more. However, the depth of songs like “messier” is curtailed by the heavy production and electric filter over her voice. An acoustic version would perhaps do better justice to the heavy, emotional chorus.
Another slow track, “want that too” is more reminiscent of her first album, with McRae expressing woe over losing herself in a relationship through a persistent emotional chorus backed by soft instrumentals. Although the expressive verses do better justice to McRae’s talents, they still don’t feel quite as impactful as those of songs like “hate myself” and “chaotic” on her first album.
As McRae has gained more traction on social media, I expected to see this album focus on differentiating her from other popular singers. However, although catchy, no song stands out to me as a truly unique sound. Rather, they feel like McRae’s additions to an existing list of pop songs of a certain mood, making songs like “think later” with its reckless attitude and the petty anthem “exes” somewhat forgettable.
Yet, as the young artist has gained more traction on social media, I feel that this album might’ve strayed too far from the qualities that initially made her unique, instead focusing more on earworm choruses that can easily be made into TikTok dance trends
Although I originally started following McRae for her simple tunes with well-crafted lyrics that were often backed by nothing more than a piano, I admire how the artist has experimented with her sound in each work. Her EPs kept the lyrics simple and slow, similar to her original songwriting videos on YouTube, while the albums picked up the pace with more heavily produced instrumentals and upbeat choruses. Yet, as the young artist has gained more traction on social media, I feel that this album might’ve strayed too far from the qualities that initially made her unique, instead focusing more on earworm choruses that can easily be made into TikTok dance trends.
Even if it didn’t add something new in terms of sound, I would appreciate the album for hard-hitting lines and unique messages. Yet many of the tracks feel similar to mainstream pop in theme as well, describing moving on from a relationship with some doubt. “calgary” is an exception to this, in which she vulnerably opens up about feeling lost as she grows up. From the unreleased “dear teenagers” to “chaotic” on her debut album, McRae has written quite a few songs about growing up, her perspective changing as she grows older.
Compared to her early songs, “THINK LATER” seems to represent a more adult, lived perspective rather than a naive speculative one, yet in doing so some of the nuance has been lost. Whereas songs like “movies end” and “that way” described less-talked-about complexities of relationships like the constant worry of them ending and the struggle to differentiate platonic and romantic feelings, both albums cover topics like the general sadness after a breakup, moving on swiftly, being hung up on an ex-lover and other topics that have often been addressed in pop music already.
Overall, I would rate McRae’s sophomore album 3.5 out of five stars. It is a fun, catchy dance album, but knowing the artist can write such unique lyrics and express poignant emotion through her singing, this fell short as a demonstration of her abilities.
