Tate McRae

Tate McRae welcomes you to her ‘dangerous woman era’, culminating in the release of an incredibly cohesive, mature and progressive sophomore record. ‘Think Later’, the Ariana Grande-esque, second studio album by the Canadian superstar, arrives nearly two years after the release of her debut LP ‘i used to think I could fly’ and is a colossal leap forward both sonically and artistically for her. Where her first album bordered on pop punk, ‘Think Later’ experiments with RnB and contemporary pop sounds, ultimately building on the success of lead single and heavily naughties infused, ‘Greedy’. With production predominantly handled by industry giant, Ryan Tedder and songwriting a collective effort between Tate, Amy Allen and Jasper Harris, it’s no wonder McRae has been pushed to create such a standout body of work absolutely brimming with potential hit records.

For a 20-year-old woman, McRae has clearly experienced her fair share of drama, both on a platonic and romantic level if, of course, we take her lyrics as ‘bible’. The album’s opener, female-empowerment anthem, ‘cut my hair’, stays true to the bass-heavy nature of RnB music and lyrically details Tate’s desire to prove to a potential flame that she is a better fit than her female peers - referring to good girls as ‘so overrated’. McRae successfully keeps her listeners engaged as we transition into track two, the TikTok viral smash, ‘Greedy’. Accompanied by an instantly recognisable melody and heavy radio play, ‘Greedy’ needs no explanation. Track three, ‘run for the hills’, the first song McRae co-wrote for the project, is the sonic embodiment of ‘breadcrumbing’. Everyone knows how hard it is to emotionally let go of someone who gives you just enough attention to keep you interested, but not enough to establish a relationship and McRae, through utilisation of lyrics such as ‘don’t tease me, then keep me around like it’s easy, when you know it could never be us’ perfectly encapsulates the feeling in an inescapably catchy contemporary pop song. The fourth song, ‘hurt my feelings’, much like a fair few other tracks on the album, lyrically describes typical relationship angst with the accompaniment of a gorgeous hip-hop edge.

We then witness a change of pace. Tracks 5 and 6, ‘grave’ and ‘stay done’ respectively, are the ballads of the project and arguably represent McRae’s effortless ability to transition between genres without over exaggerating herself. ‘Exes’, the seventh song and second single issued off the album, is far less lyrically deep than its predecessors, but instead showcases Tate’s fun side and her desire to trivialise, in a non-malicious manner, the changeable nature of her attitudes and affections towards certain exes. ‘We’re not alike’, ‘Calgary’ and ‘messier’ soon follow, before we’re eventually gifted with the album’s titular track, ‘think later’. This, without doubt, is the strongest feature of the project, an opinion I credit primarily to that wholly unexpected, M.I.A ‘Bad Girls’ style bass echoing throughout the duration of the track, but perhaps most noticeably in the introduction, as well as it’s flawless encompassing of the noughties inspired, mid-tempo hip-hop Tate has been experimenting with. ‘Guilty conscience’, track 12 on the album, pays homage to the lyrically repetitive but equally infectious pop melodies of McRae’s early discography before we witness yet another change of pace with tracks 13 and 14, ‘want that too’ and ‘plastic palm trees’ respectively. The deviation from careening beats and synths to a more indie-pop driven composition for the album’s closing tracks again, exhibits Tate’s versatile artistry.

A really, really strong record and such an undeniable progression from her debut, I have no hesitation with giving this album five stars!