Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae released her sophomore album “Think Later” on Dec. 8, and it met fans’ high expectations. The album is full of soon-to-be hits, with high energy songs that are exciting to listen to and make you want to sing along.
This album really impressed me. Her writing and variety of songs has improved and expanded so much since her first album “I Used to Think I Could Fly” came out last year. I loved every single song on the album, and each new one I heard made me want to hear more.
“Think Later’s” perfect mix of vibrant pop music and emotionally powerful ballads draw listeners in and make you want to hear more. McRae has become a pro at writing in both of these styles because of her previous album and singles giving her around 5 years of writing experience.
McRae began posting covers and some original songs on her YouTube channel when she was 15. McRae gained attention as a dancer, so her channel was originally dedicated to dancing; however, when she started posting piano-accompanied songs, her channel’s focus shifted to music.
When McRae first started her singing career, she exclusively wrote her own music. As she continues to gain popularity, McRae has become writing and producing partners with many artists. “Think Later” was co-produced with the lead singer of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder.
McRae’s sultry but powerful voice is captivating and sets her apart from other musicians. Her vocal abilities are incredible and her tone and emotions really shine through in her songs.
The first song released from “Think Later” was “greedy,” released on Sept. 15, which was then followed by “exes” on Nov. 17. Before the releases, McRae leaked snippets of both songs on her TikTok account, which helped them gain enormous popularity even before their official releases. They are both incredible upbeat songs with easy to follow lyrics and rhythms, making them catchy and fun to dance to.
The song “greedy” is about knowing your worth and being self confident, which is an important message for McRae’s listeners which are mainly teens and young adults. “exes” is about McRae’s mixed feelings towards her exes, and how she knows she also made some mistakes.
“greedy” and “exes” were good choices of songs to release off of “Think Later” first, because they sum up some of the topics the album’s songs are about. Other than self confidence and past relationships, other songs from the album are about jealousy, the struggles that come with loving someone, the unexpected toxicity of people, emotions and living in the moment.
A ballad that I loved was “grave.” It is about the inability to change someone to be how you want them to be. It’s message really stuck out to me because it helps underline the fact that it’s normal for people to not be how you want them to be, and it’s not necessarily your job to change them.
One thing that I noticed was that some of the songs were a bit repetitive, however I did not feel that it took away from the listening experience at all. If anything, it made the songs catchier and easier to learn the lyrics to.
McRae’s new album has a similar mix of songs and styles to “emails i can’t send” by Sabrina Carpenter. Their similar themes about relationships, jealousy and self confidence are noticeable when listening to “Think Later.”
“Think Later” is an incredible album that is an especially good listen for teens who want relatable music to scream-sing to when they are frustrated or need a good cry. I definitely recommend taking the time to listen to this phenomenal album, and if you like it, consider purchasing a ticket to her upcoming tour this summer.
