Pop star Tate McRae shows a whole different side of herself through the five new songs on her album So Close To What (Deluxe).

McRae’s older breakup songs are sad and about her missing her ex, but the songs on this deluxe album are completely different. The new tracks capture the emotions of being happier after a breakup.

The song “Anything But Love” is about her hating her ex-boyfriend, the kid Laroi, and being happy that he is out of her life, while he is still obsessed with her. It features lyrics like, “I know that you want that upper echelon, but we know you don’t make that cut.”  

Laroi released a song about him trying to “fix” her. She replied with a hard-hitting song called “Tit For Tat,” saying that his ego was bruised and she was partying without him. She also made it clear that she lost respect for him after he moved on from her so quickly. 

McRae includes lyrics that connect to older songs she wrote while she was dating Laroi. In the older song “Siren Sounds,” she talked about how they were living in a burning house. After the breakup, the new song “Horseshoe” includes the lyrics, “And so the house burned down but I finally saw the moon.”

A huge part of the reason why this deluxe album is so good is because she has gained confidence in her writing since her debut album. Listeners can tell that there is also a vocal improvement.

All of the new songs are good, though the song “Nobody’s Girl” is a little repetitive. It has a great beat and amazing lyricism, but the chorus is just repeated a lot.

Even though the new tracks are amazing, they are really different from the rest of the songs. They definitely could have been put on their own separate album.

Aside from the small flaws, So Close To What (Deluxe) is a great album considering all the songs are good. The beats are addicting and lyrics are catchy. Fans of pop music will definitely love this album.