THINK LATER, Tate McRae

It's well known in the music industry that an artist's sophomore album can make or break their longevity as an artist; with THINK LATER, Tate McRae is undoubtedly here to stay.

Compared to the one or two rock-solid hits on her 2022 debut i used to think i could fly, THINK LATER is chock-full of hits from start to finish. Genuinely, is there a single skip on this album? The stylistic choices Tate has taken on THINK LATER most remind me of a modern take on the albums released by the pop girls of the early 2000s like Hilary Duff and Aly & AJ. THINK LATER is dance-able female empowerment with perfectly raspy vocals, ear candy production, and just enough confident spite lyrically to make me believe that I too could send "kisses to my exes who don't give a shit about me."

Stand-out tracks: "cut my hair" "greedy" "hurt my feelings" "exes"

My favorites: "run for the hills" "we're not alike" "calgary" "think later"

You know you're in for a treat of an album with an opener like "cut my hair." The title's symbolism, deep trap beat, and lyrics like "I've been playing nice, little too long, Driving on the high road and hit a dead end"makes it incredibly clear that you're going to spend the next 38 minutes and 22 seconds of this album feeling bold. "greedy" is arguably Tate's biggest hit to date; it's no wonder considering how aboslutely addictive the chorus is. "run for the hills" and "hurt my feelings" match in their energy of realizing how down bad you are for someone incredibly toxic.

Things slow down for a few tracks with "grave" and "stay done." While the previous two tracks were the frustration and telling yourself to keep your head on straight, "grave" and "stay done" are the submission of telling yourself maybe they're not so bad even though you know deep down that yes, yes they are that bad.

I dare you to not dance or flip your hair while listening to "exes"-- can't do it? Me neither. This one ate up the TikTok-sphere with it's incredibly catchy and off-the-cuff "Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me; We make up, then we break up, then they swear they'll never call me.""we're not alike" is the one moment of anti-feminism on THINK LATER. It sounds like some girl wasn't a girl's girl and stabbed Miss Tate in the back over a man, so she has every right to be as cheeky and mad as she comes across in this song.

"calgary" is the most vulnerable Tate has ever been musically, tapping into emotions of self-doubt and introspection paired with beautifully haunting vocals that tell you that she really feels this one deep in her bones. "messier" is vulnerable in a different way; it's bass rattles your bones as lyrically Tate finally gets to a point in THINK LATER where she realizes that leaving would hurt less than staying.

The last big punch of THINK LATER comes with the pairing of "think later" and "guilty conscience." This is that moment of weakness when you let the toxic person sneak back in; all thoughts of being better off alone disappear in a moment across these tracks, with "think later" thrumming with clubby bass hits and lyrics like "Live now, think later, I do it so well, Fall hard, heart breaker, I want him, oh well." The toxic bad boy continues to be bad news with the bumpy, addictive rhythms and "All my morals shot, even that don't phase me, Loving you batshit crazy, Kinda reckless lately, If that's wrong, Guess I'll live with a guilty conscience" of "guilty conscience."

The decrescendo of THINK LATER is the conclusion of "want that too" and "plastic palm trees." The pairing of these two are the resurgence of those thoughts that it's really not worth it to keep someone in your life no matter how much you want to. Together, they really to make a beautiful conclusion to the tumultuous story of THINK LATER.

THINK LATER is cohesive, addictive, empowering, unrelenting, confident top-notch pop from start to finish. There's no sophomore slump here-- Tate McRae has solidified herself as a modern pop superstar.

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: FULLY OBSESSED