“Dear God,” Tate McRae’s third studio album, came out on Friday with 15 new tracks to dance to. 

“So Close to What” opens with “Miss possessive,” where Sydney Sweeney starts the track with a singular line, “No, seriously, get your hands off my man.” McRae sings to this catchy pop beat and repeatedly says, “Keep your eyes off him.” It is the most ‘stuck in your head’ songs off this album, competing with “Revolving door.”

McRae released a music video of “Revolving door” a few hours before the album release to get her fans excited. Jaw dropped, might I say. “Revolving door” is so upbeat, yet the lyrics are sad. The music video has a unique way of tying this all together. McRae is first talking about how she thinks she is finally good after this relationship, but as the song moves, she realizes she is not okay. She sings, “I need a minute” over and over at the end of the song. In the music video, McRae was shown crying on the floor at the end. This was so powerful and added depth to the song.

“bloodonmyhands,” featuring Flo Milli, comes right after “Revolving door,” and packs a punch. It’s almost like McRae is laughing at her ex through the words. Almost like she is shoving it in his face that she has moved on and is happier. 

We see that happiness reflected in the most romantic song off the album, “I know love” featuring her boyfriend, The Kid LAROI. The pair making a song together did not come as a surprise since they have performed together once, and the reaction from the fans that followed. Their voices blend well together. 

The lyrics to “Purple lace bra” and “Greenlight” are crafted cleverly. In “Purple lace bra,” the mellowness in her voice just sounds like she is disappointed and upset at this guy only wanting her for one thing. In “Greenlight,” she expresses that this relationship took so much out of her and that she lost herself in the process. She was trying to be someone else so he would like her more. “Maybe it’s a green light, but I can’t go,” brings this song together and leaves you thinking about it, much like how she is feeling.

McRae has a strength of delivering an attention-getting chorus. This strength is shown in “Signs.” “For “You should know me better,” / see the signs / Should’ve have to tell you or / whatever, read my mind, oh.” She often says the opposite of what she is feeling, and the other person should pick up on that and know the signs. The concept and meaning to it resonates. This chorus is special like “2 hands,” where it seems like the song is over, but then she brings it back.

The track that is receiving the most attention is “Sports car,” surpassing “Greedy” on Spotify. “Sports car” is my personal favorite off the album, because of the whispering she does in the chorus. The bass adds a little danger to the song that makes it so sexy and addictive, then there is also a sports car.

“So Close to What” comes to an end with “Nostalgia,” the slowest song on the album. On her other albums, she also ended those with slow, lullaby-like melodies. McRae’s first album, “i used to think i could fly,” comprised of a lot of sad songs that fans of this era have come to identify as McRae speaking. The more pop induced songs we see on “Think Later” is her alter ego she calls Tatianna. After listening to “So Close To What,” it is obvious that Tatianna has taken over a lot of these tracks. If you are a fan of pop, you will be a fan of “So Close to What.”

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