i used to think i could fly / Tate McRae / May 27, 2022
- Joshua Yoo
- Aug 12, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2022
There is an underlying ubiquity to the sound that Tate McRae curates on her debut album. Whether it’s labeled as teenage heartbreak or pick-yourself-up empowerment, ‘i used to think i could fly’ scratches at a similar overall sentiment to many of her already established contemporaries in the same field of young troubled romance. The question as to whether she quite distinguishes herself in a refreshing new way is debatable, but she manages to hit the benchmark to garner an appeal.
Through and through, Tate McRae delves into every component of toxic relationships, sometimes sad sometimes sour, but all with a sort of bitter undertone. It reflects in her vocal performances, in which her naturally raspy timbre lends itself to the overall mood in some compelling moments on the record.
The kind of approach McRae takes to her songwriting and lyricism is expectedly straightforward and diary-like, in a 19-year-old kind of way. And it’s clear right now that her audience scope is heavily focused on the same crowd, especially in the heavy leans on pop-punk and acoustic ballad aesthetics.
But while the appeal is understandable, the record also lacks much of anything beyond that narrow appeal. The tone of the project is one-dimensional, the takes on the genres she pulls from hardly do anything creative or inventive, and in the realm of her style, other artists are pushing the envelope further. McRae is talented and will maintain an audience, but it would be exciting to see a unique mark being made on the landscape of love stricken Gen Z pop.
Highlights(s): i’m so gone, feel like shit, chaotic
Lowlight(s): what would you do?, you’re so cool, don’t come back
SCORE: 4/10
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