After a successful summer of serving singles, Sabrina Carpenter released her sixth studio album “Short n’ Sweet” August 23. Ever since Espresso hit first on the Global 200 and third on the Hot 100, Carpenter has kept busy promoting her newest work by collaborating with ice cream company Van Leeuwen in creating an exclusive espresso-flavored ice cream. Following that, her second single “Please Please Please” debuted as second on the Hot 100 and quickly reached first with a music video featuring Oscar-winning actor, and Carpenter’s then-boyfriend, Barry Keoghan.
Carpenter has come a long way since gaining creative freedom and artistic control when she signed with music label Island in 2021. Before this, Carpenter was stuck in a five-year record deal with Disney’s label company, Hollywood Records. The singer showed drastic growth in her 2022 album “Emails I Can’t Send,” which, already, showed a change-of-style from her early 2000’s hits.
This album and her newest release share similar themes of cleverly portraying a romance-gone-wrong. The first song in the new album, ‘Taste,’ was released with a music video featuring “Wednesday” actress Jenna Ortega. As she portrays comical violence in the video, Carpenter sings, “You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you,” while trying to murder Ortega, who played “the other woman” in the love triangle.
Following Carpenter’s second track, “Please Please Please,” she takes on a more disco-pop approach with “Good Graces.” The song warns hypocrites and cheaters with the line, “You should stay in my good graces/ Or I’ll switch it up like that so fast.” The song shows Carpenter’s duality, which adds to overall charm. While she puts on a cheerful act in songs that play on desire, she bashes manipulation in others.
Following, listeners dive into a more emotional country track, “Sharpest Tool,” which talks about lack of communication and commitment. Carpenter describes a relationship in which “guilt creeps in” when one distances themselves from the latter.
Carpenter follows with another country-style track, “Coincidence,” which shifts from an emotional ballad of being neglected to a witty song speculating on the possibility of there being another woman. “This week, you’re holdin’ space for her tongue in your mouth,” Carpenter sings. To mock the whole ordeal, Carpenter sarcastically follows with an ironic “What a coincidence” line.
Switching the mood with “Bed Chem,” Carpenter serenades her lover in an R&B-infused instrumental with flirty lyrics about their chemistry. The singer’s confident and desiring persona shines in this track. After which, the soundtrack jumps straight into “Espresso.”
Listeners are met with yet another emotional song, “Dumb & Poetic,” which is an acoustic song about heartbreak, featuring influences from Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
“Slim Pickins” unexpectedly brings out a banjo instrumental as Carpenter sings with a southern accent, “If I can’t have the one I love, I guess it’s you that I’ll be kissing.” The singer voices her frustrations of not being able to find ‘the one’ in a humorous, charming way. Following this tract, The Times music critic Victoria Segal labeled her as the “Gen Z Dolly Parton.”
The singer then switches to a more pop style with “Juno,” even more flirty than she was in “Bed Chem,” seemingly finding another guy to love. The music is more upbeat and the lyrics bold.
As quickly as the love started, Carpenter comes back to bashing infidelity and lies with “Don’t Lie to Girls,” where she sarcastically adds that no lies are needed when girls lie to themselves.
With that, she finishes the album with powerful lyrics in “Don’t Smile,” singing “You’re supposed to think about me everytime you hold her,” going full circle to the very beginning of a playful rivalry in “Taste.”
Overall, the album deserves the attention it gets because of how many musical references were brought up. Carpenter makes a story come alive with her lyrics, which perfectly goes with this playful persona she portrays.
The album cover, though taken from the 2015 issue of Cosmopolitan France with Tiffany Collier, goes well with Carpenter’s persona. The styled blond blow-out, pink cheeks and coy look that contrast against the bright blue background makes it stand out with its simplicity and style. (Graphic/Alina Sukhovskaya)
