On Feb. 24, 2025, Canadian pop star Tate McRae released her third studio album entitled “So Close to What.” The album has 15 songs, two of which are collaborations and four of which were released as singles. With themes of love, lust and betrayal, “So Close to What” is full of catchy rhythms and melodies. Even so, many of the songs feel repetitive and overused.
For example, “Sports car” and “Purple lace bra” are two earworm songs that you will find yourself humming along with, but if you listen to them back to back you will quickly realize that they share very similar vocal and instrumental patterns. While repetition and similarities are common in the music industry, having two almost indistinguishable songs back to back on a tracklist may not be the best idea to keep listeners engaged.
Additionally, despite the fact that the opening track “Miss possessive” is engaging and fun to listen to, McRae begins the song with a spoken introduction that feels very reminiscent of the styles of Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. Although artists commonly take inspiration from each other, using almost the exact same techniques can take the listener out of the moment and distract them from the lyrics and message of the song.
Some of McRae’s best tracks off of “So Close to What” are her collaborations “bloodonmyhands” featuring Flo Milli and “I know love” with The Kid LAROI, simply because of the fact that they offer a reprieve from the repetitive monotony of the rest of the album. Neither of the songs were especially amazing in any regard, but they provide the listener with a break from listening to McRae sing the same notes over and over again.
All in all, there is nothing spectacular about “So Close to What.” Many of the tracks are nearly identical to each other, and the album overall just feels very overused and repetitive.
