Despite its cheeky title, Sabrina Carpenter’s new album “Short n’ Sweet” arrived on Friday with a tall order to fill.
Carpenter’s sixth album was led by the hit singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” which peaked at No. 2 and no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, and dominated the annual song of the summer contest. But “Short n’ Sweet” isn’t Carpenter’s most anticipated release to date. It is the best, most obscure work of his career.
Carpenter stands 5 feet tall, as he croons the album’s opening track, but the title doesn’t just come from his Polly Pocket. It also talks about important relationships he’s recently been through, whose short duration belies the emotional damage they’ve caused — what Gen Z might describe as “situational.”
“I thought about some of these relationships and how some of them were shorter than I’ve ever had, and they really hit me,” he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. .
In fact, throughout “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter has no qualms about the dirty mess of modern dating. However, she makes it tolerable – better yet, fun! – with his never ending sense of humor. Sometimes, as the kids say, you just have to laugh.
Cleverly released as the second single, “Please Please” offers the closest thing Carpenter has to a theory: “The heart is something else, the ego mine is one / I beg you not to shame me, mother’s mother.”
It’s a classic indictment of the information age: Now that everyone’s online, everyone has an opinion, and social media manipulation is a national game. Falling in love has always been scary for personal reasons, but now, it also comes with social danger. Every partner who reaches the status of “Instagram official” becomes a potential liability – or, in the case of someone of Carpenter’s status, a scandal.
Album highlights “Taste” and “Just Happened” both skewer a man who swore he was over his ex, only for Carpenter to see their photos online, like, two seconds after to go – the classic story of digital courtship. Finally, Carpenter reveals that the person in question was sending lewd photos to the guy while he and Carpenter were together. (The nerve!)
“It’s weird your phone just died / Your car drove from L.A. to his lap,” he teases in the bridge of “Coincidence,” a line that would send the former Laurel Canyon singer into cardiac arrest .
This album is full of subtle moments like these, which combine desire and absurdity with the pain of rejection in charming strokes. “The Dumb and the Poet” paints the all-too-familiar picture of the con man, the kind of guy who can insist that “Fight Club” is the best movie ever made (without understanding its themes) and, in Carpenter’s words, “jack. in the words of Leonard Cohen.” Another standout, “Slim Pickins,” is Carrie Bradshaw on Dolly Parton, whining about “all the douchebags on my phone” while the underdogs enjoy the drama.
Meanwhile, “Good Grace” and “Bed Chem” recall the R&B-pop stylings of Ariana Grande — Carpenter’s real-life grandfather, though she recently met Taylor Swift. Grande’s 2019 opus “Thank U, Next” was a similar kind of snapshot, capturing a unique moment in Grande’s life. and in pop culture, its playlist is full of lyrics and shout-outs to fashion brands.
These kinds of modern touchpoints can easily come across as cringy or corny, especially in pop music, which has become corny. (Even devoted Swifties have always objected to their god’s use of words and phrases in his songs, such as “Hits Different” and “Down Bad.”) But Carpenter uses them to build the foundation of the story. home of storytelling. “Short n’ Sweet” is an album based firmly, almost defiantly, in the present – all the problems and frustrations of modern-day love, which, unfortunately, often do sweet nighttime fodder.
Despite all the difficulties, his behavior is successful. It even feels relatable. Carpenter may be a blonde bombshell with the voice of an angel, recounting her woes to millions of fans, but she doesn’t play like she’s above our listeners. It often sounds like he’s on stage, looking out into the crowd and rolling his eyes, like, “Can you believe this guy?” My takeaway: No, girl, I can’t.
Final score: 8.8/10
Sabrina Carpenter has 12 songs. Island Records
It is important to listen: “Taste,” “Please Please,” “The Strongest Tool,” “Accidentally,” “Bed Chem,” “Espresso,” “Dumb and Poetic,” “Little Pickins,” “Juno ,” “Lies to Girls”
Background music: “Good Luck”
Click skip: “don’t smile”
*Final album score based on tracks (1 point for “Worth a listen,” .5 for “Background Music,” 0 for “Click skip”).