Actress turned pop sensation, Sabrina Carpenter, has released her sixth studio album ‘Short n’ Sweet’. Carpenter has struck both commercial and pop culture gold with her first two releases from the record, ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please‘, with both tracks hitting the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and the latter peaking at Number 1. The landscape of pop culture as a whole has seen a drastic revamp in recent months, with artists like Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli xcx dominating social media and driving various trends amongst young people.

Beyond the exquisite fashion choices and the vintage visuals is where the real Sabrina Carpenter is emerging – in the music. Both singles from the new album have proven to be undeniable earworms and have already asserted themselves as some of 2024’s most played tracks, but can the star keep the heat coming? With 12 songs, it’d be difficult for the record not to fall flat at some point, right?  Surprisingly, there are no dull moments here.

The album opens with the third single ‘Taste’, a classic, upbeat tongue in cheek anthem penned with the help of Julia Michaels. Right off the bat, it’s apparent that Sabrina Carpenter is incredibly proficient when it comes to melodies, which is arguably her strongest musical asset. Each track on ‘Short n’ Sweet‘ has at least one line that worms its way into your head and lays musical eggs in your brain, hatching over a few days in the form of infectious jingles that will plague you in the best possible way. The songstress isn’t lacking in confidence with the opening lyrics of the record stating, “Oh, I leave quite an impression” – she isn’t wrong.

Both ‘Please Please Please‘ and ‘Good Graces‘ offer comedic moments that elevate the sincerity of the tunes. It’s always a delight when Carpenter throws in her spoken word ad-libs, they help inject the music with authentic personality and that’s a difficult skill to possess and it can be overused to the point of annoyance, however that isn’t the case here. ‘The Sharpest Tool’, solely produced by Jack Antonoff, proves just how excellent he can be at his craft when he is given good material to work with. The other notable takeaways from track four are that it’s the first real vulnerability we see from the singer on the record and the first time thus far we’re given a more intimate experience both sonically and in terms of tempo.

‘Coincidence’ at its core emanates a pop-folk vibe, the production feels looser at the start of the track but soon slides into an ethereal place, especially with Carpenter’s whisper-like adlibs gallivanting around the sonic cosmos, panning from one ear to the other to compliment the chaotic nature of the somewhat sad track. The song finally allows the artist to excel vocally, flaunting flawless and seemingly effortless vocal runs to remind her listeners that she’s a real pro in the game – and has been for a hot minute.

‘Bed Chem’ is an insanely fun, provocative track that is packed full of freaky lyrics and erotic innuendos, it almost feels like it could be a B-side from Ariana Grande’s 2020 album ‘positions’. On the flip side however, ‘Dumb and Poetic‘ is an incredibly blunt, niche track, focusing on a very specific situation. Despite this, everyone has met somebody like the person that Carpenter is referring to; a person who meditates and usually brags about taking psychedelics, they present themselves as some kind of enlightened individual but they’re almost always just trying to mask their promiscuity and manipulative tendencies. Simply put, we all know a walking red flag – and we are often drawn to them, a little like bulls.

True love eludes Carpenter on ‘Slim Pickins‘, a country-folk detour from prior tracks. ‘Slim Pickins’ follows the theme of the singer’s admirable vulnerability that truly radiates through the second half of the record and almost sounds as though it could’ve been a single from Lizzie No’s album ‘Halfsies’. It’s a welcome change to hear the singer belt out some of her most personal inner thoughts, without the need for too many humorous quips (although, the line expressing disappointment by not having a gay awakening certainly got a laugh out of me).

If my interpretation serves me correctly, ‘Juno‘ appears to reference the 2007 film by the same name and the lyrics “I might let you make me Juno‘ likely refers to pregnancy. The track is not subtle in its explicit lyricism and it fits seamlessly with earlier tracks of the same erotic subject matter (whether it works in terms of placement in the tracklist is an entirely different discourse, however). Penultimate track ‘Lie To Girls‘ is another beautiful composition that is both honest and simultaneously heart-breaking. The song explores the way in which we lie to ourselves about the flaws that exist in our partners and in our relationships, it’s even more saddening that Carpenter is incredibly self-aware of this fact, while most of us don’t stop to realise how we subconsciously twist dysfunctional relationships into fairy tales.

Closing track ‘Don’t Smile‘ is Carpenter acknowledging her toxic traits in a haunting vocal haze, she’s dealing with feeling bitter about a lost love who’s left her in a sort of purgatory, she’s still contemplating falling back into the situation if it suits the man in question. The singer doesn’t feel as if her ex-partner is taking the breakup badly enough, she craves for him to despair in the same way she is. Although it’s a tragic album closer, the track encapsulates a lot of the singer’s charm – genuine vulnerability and a fabricated nonchalant attitude in the face of heartbreak, something that we as Gen Z have seemingly become masters at.

‘Short n’ Sweet‘ does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak. This record is akin to opening a box of Tic Tacs, several little treats dispersing one after another. Sabrina Carpenter is a master at her craft and currently trails ahead of the game in pop music, blending stupendous melodies with cracking relatable lyricism and always packing a gentle vocal punch. It’s also worth mentioning that the artist is phenomenal when it comes to a brilliant middle-eight, always perfecting her bridges and allowing her tracks to flow harmoniously. I graciously applaud Carpenter’s ‘Short n’ Sweet‘ …and I sincerely recommend it to anybody craving a little sugar.

Sabrina Carpenter: Short n’ Sweet – Out 23rd August 2024 (Polydor)

Carpenter – Please Please Please (Official Video) (youtube.com)