When Tate McRae broke out in 2020 with the bedroom pop of her debut single “You Broke Me First,” the then-17-year-old Canadian singer broke into TikTok with such an innate understanding of how other teens consumed music that RCA Records. “He just signed her, they reorganized their marketing strategy around her. But the formula behind that initial success—a mix of original dances, trending, and teaser clips—didn't always work for her. 'She's All I Wanna Be', the must-have hit from her 2022 debut album I once thought I could fly she traded her sad-girl appeal for a supercharged pop-rock sound that didn't really resonate with her original fans. And “Uh Oh,” 2022's promising follow-up single to her first album, did so poorly that it didn't even make the tracklist for the second one, which just came out. Think later.
But with “Greedy,” the first single Think later, McRae, now 20, found just the right mix of addictive melody and wild attitude—and true to her Calgary roots, she even appeared in the song's video riding a Zamboni and shining through Sean Bankhead's choreography in hockey gear. The record is an earworm that channels the spirit of Nelly Furtado's “Promiscuous” so deeply that you'd assume the fellow Canadian pop star's name would be mentioned in the credits. Do you want her on your team? So does everyone else.
McRae was more selective this time around about the players she would hit the ice with. Only a few of the collaborators from her debut made the cut. Ryan Tedder was hired as an executive producer. A longtime master of the middling pop hit, he created Think later with McRae alongside Amy Allen and Jasper Harris. Greg Kurstin and Max Martin's student ILYA also appear on the album's credits. In the age of unsustainable virality and untouchable mega-stars, McRae has embraced the lost art of combining an inescapable chorus with a killer music video and great chorus. She comes across as a student of old-school pop with a clear understanding of range and flexibility, as if the flexibility from her dance background has seeped into her creative mind.
Think Later, the bass-heavy title track sadly buried in the album's second half, cruises in a lane somewhere between the gang vocals of MIA's 2013 single 'Bad Girls' and the soulful Atlanta attitude of Cherish's hit 2006 “Do It To It”. .” In her signature act, McRae establishes her core ethos: do it for the plot. “Laughing in the back seat of the black car,” he sings, setting the scene. “It's not a good night if you don't take it too far.” Her phone is off, drinks are flowing and hands are wandering. On the electro R&B track “Run for the Hills,” McRae escapes into a haze of excitement, thinking, “Maybe the danger is masked by the thrill.” He will deal with the consequences later.
There's a real thematic thread running through its 39 minutes Think laterone that highlights the influence McRae most clearly wears on her sleeve: Ariana Grande's 2019 pop opus, Thanks, Next. This album it represented a career-defining shift for Grande as she dug herself out of the wreckage of grief, heartbreak and inner turmoil. Similarly, for McRae, Think later represents an embrace of anger, cynicism and female empowerment in response to emotional manipulation and professional struggles. McRae's wickedly addictive single 'Exes' channels the unapologetic emotional indecision of Grande's 'Bloodline'. On “Hurt My Feelings,” when an ex has moved on, the singer stirs up her own unhinged fantasies to rival “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored.”
And like Grande did on “In My Head,” McRae has a much-needed awakening on “Grave,” the strongest ballad on Think later. “I could never make you want me like I wanted to be wanted,” he sings. It's one of the few times on record that slowing down doesn't inadvertently diminish the singer's most compelling assets. Another is “Messier,” which lives up to its title with a promise of mutually assured destruction, even if its swelling chorus ultimately falls short of the heights it feels like it's building to. “You're running out, you're pulling my hand/I'm not sure if my mama would call that love,” she narrates, momentarily embracing the stark depth she could use more of.
“Calgary” is a safe ode to hometown ghosts, coming of age and people pleasers that brings back the growing pains he sang about last year on the single “Chaotic.” Even the Bonnie and Clyde-like Guilty Conscience feels familiar, and in line with Olivia Rodrigo's Favorite Crime. Other songs are more exciting. She gets stabbed in the back twice on the album, first by someone who isn't a real girl (“We're Not Alike”), then by an older figure who takes advantage of her innocence (“Want That Too”). She often holds back her anger in the face of betrayal, often recognizing her inability to remove herself from toxic situations – sometimes, she stays because she believes she is toxic too.
These are recurring themes and tropes that appear in many artists' catalogs, including some of the greats. Artists like Rodrigo and Grande lean toward the hyperpersonal. Others take a more hedonistic approach – Dua Lipa, for example, hasn't had a single ballad Future Notalgia. Finding balance within this dichotomy is the greatest source of tension Think later. Songs that use the tried and true ballad formula he showcased on previous songs like “You Broke Me First” and “Feel Like Shit” mostly falter here. But when she digs deep into the pop girl playbook, particularly the Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears chapters, you can hear the accompanying dance cues.
McRae feels an uncertainty about how much of herself she should pour into these songs. Mostly, though, it sounds like it's more comfortable cornering in the fast lane. “A few years ago, so sensitive, yeah/Movin' as it gets repetitive, yeah/Singing 'bout the same old stupid stuff,” she spits on album opener “Cut My Hair,” drawing a line between Pop Girl Tate. and Sad Girl Tate. After all, she sings, “Sad girl got a little boring.”