Sabrina Carpenter – “Short n’ Sweet” Review!

By Kayla Harper

On August 23, 2024, Sabrina Carpenter released her highly anticipated sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet.  Carpenter is not new to the spotlight as she’s spent most of her life pursuing an acting career, while also releasing several pop albums.  However, it was not until her fifth album, emails I can’t send, that Carpenter finally started gaining mainstream recognition for her musical talents.

Hits such as “Nonsense” and “Feather” showcase Carpenter’s signature style: catchy pop hooks sealed together with clever wit and unserious lyrics.  Over the past couple years, as these songs gained popularity, Carpenter became recognizable for long blond hair, cut-out heart dresses and platform boots.

After several weeks of listening, here is my personal review of each track (including the bonus tracks) on Carpenter’s latest album,  Short n’ Sweet. 

 

Track One: “Taste”

“Taste” opens the album on an upbeat note, making a jab at Carpenter’s height: “Oh I leave quite an impression / five feet to be exact.”  The song tells the story of a scandalous love triangle as Carpenter sings over slick guitar riffs.  Although it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, from the wit and double meaning in the lyrics, to the upbeat catchy-pop sound, and the impressive vocal runs, “Taste” sounds like an authentic song from Carpenter.

Favourite Lyric: “You can have him if you like / I’ve been there, done that once or twice”

Final Score: 8/10

 

Track Two: “Please Please Please” 

Short n’ Sweet’s second single, “Please Please Please”, maintains the energy of the first track, as the instrumental picks up with a similar momentum.  Carpenter sings about the uncertainties that come with relationships, especially with someone unpredictable: “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another / I beg you don’t embarrass me motherfucker.”  “Please Please Please” accurately conveys the dread and anxiety that things will go wrong in a relationship and the hope that it doesn’t, wrapping it all up into a cute and unserious pop song.

Favourite Lyric: “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another / I beg you don’t embarrass me motherfucker”

Final Score: 7/10

 

Track Three: “Good Graces” 

Kicking off with an intricate guitar lick, “Good Graces” is another upbeat track, with ‘I don’t give a fuck’ energy that’s reminiscent of emails I can’t send’s “Feather”.  “Good Graces” praises confidence and self-respect when it comes to setting boundaries in relationships, established when Carpenter sings: “Boy it’s not that complicated / you should stay in my good graces…‘cause no one’s more amazing / at turnin’ lovin’ into hatred.”  The song’s verses are filled with tongue in cheek innuendos -making it a classic Sabrina track!

Favourite Lyric: “I’ll tell the world you finish your chores prematurely…you do something sus, kiss my cute ass bye-bye”

Final Score:  9/10

 

Track Four: “Sharpest Tool”

Like the title suggests, Carpenter opens the fourth track with the common phrase, “I know you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed.” Slowing the tempo down, “Sharpest Tool” is the first track to reveal Carpenter’s vulnerable side on the album.  The juxtaposition between the way the song scrutinizes the details of a messy situationship, while repeating the phrase “we never talk about it”, paints the song as an honest outlet; a place to vent about everything that isn’t talked about.

Favourite Lyric: “We never talk about how you found God at your ex’s house”

Final Score: 6/10

 

Track Five: “Coincidence” 

“Coincidence” is an ironic and confrontational track led by acoustic guitars and background harmonies.  Carpenter sings with sass and suspicion about specific scenarios revealing her partner’s infidelity, going on to minimize it to a coincidence (sounds like an excuse a man would make in the scenario): “What a ‘surprise’ / your phone just ‘died’ / your car drove itself from L.A. to her thighs…damnit she looks kind of like the girl you outgrew / at least that’s what you said / what a coincidence.”  

Favourite Lyric: “Lost all your common sense (lost all your common sense) what a coincidence”

Final Score:  7/10

 

Track Six: “Bed Chem”

With “Bed Chem” Short n’ Sweet resumes its catchy-upbeat, unserious and light-hearted culture.  The song’s lyrics are filled with double meanings and innuendos reminiscent of Carpenter’s scandalous “Nonsense” outros: “Come right on me / I mean camaraderie.”  “Bed Chem” reveals Carpenter’s humour and ability to have fun when making music; not every song has to be deep, emotional and serious, some are simply Carpenter, in her own words, “just kind of have[ing] fun with it.” (Carpenter to Vanity Fair, 2024).

Favourite Lyric: “said you’re not in my time zone, but you wanna be / where art thou? Why not uponeth me?”

Final Score: 9/10

 

Track Seven: “Espresso”

Despite hesitation from her label and team, Short n’ Sweet’s lead single, “Espresso”, was a catalyst for Carpenter’s music career. Taking her popularity from songs like “Nonsense” and “Feather” and expanding it to a new level of success. It’s catchy melody that gets stuck in your head, paired with the unserious and relatable lyrics make “Espresso” the perfect pop song; light-hearted, danceable and uplifting.  Even with the rest of the album, “Espresso” remains the most significant when it comes to these elements.

Favourite Lyric: “I can’t relate to desperation / my give a fucks are on vacation…I’m working late ‘cause I’m a singer”

Final Score: 10/10

 

Track Eight: “Dumb & Poetic” 

“Dumb & Poetic” is an honest and vulnerable track in which Carpenter opens up about the toxic behaviours of an ex, coming to terms with how these impacted the relationship.  Reminiscent in nature, “Dumb & Poetic” seems to allow the singer to work through the details of the relationship, which she was once blind to, in order to understand the unavoidable outcome: “you’re so sad there’s no communication / but baby you put us in this situation…don’t think you understand / just ‘cause you act like one doesn’t make you a man.”

Favourite Lyric: “fuck with my head like it’s some kind of fetish”

Final Score: 10/10

 

Track Nine: “Slim Pickins” 

Carpenter first debuted the ninth track on Short n’ Sweet, “Slim Pickins”, on August 2, 2024 at the Grammy museum where she played an acoustic show with collaborator Jack Antonoff.  The song talks about the struggles of finding a suitable partner, even with the bar set extremely low: “A boy who’s nice that breathes / I swear he’s nowhere to be seen.”  While still fitting the common themes of the album,  “Slim Pickins” stands out sonically from the rest of the album as it draws inspiration from the country genre, reminiscent of Dolly Parton’s style.

Favourite Lyric:  “This boy doesn’t even know the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they are’ / yet he’s naked in my room missing all the things he’s misin’ god knows that he isn’t livin’ large”

Final Score: 8/10

 

Track Ten: “Juno”

“Juno” brings the vibe back up to the unserious, catchy-pop beats which carried the first half of the album.  Fans speculated on whether Carpenter was referring to the Roman goddess or the 2007 romantic comedy, however, both are fitting for the song’s implications: “I might let you make me Juno…one of me is cute, but two, though?”  Melodic instrumentals and soaring choruses are heard throughout the entire song, along with more of Carpenter’s humorous, dirty lyrics.  However, the best part might just be the instrumental break after the bridge.

Favourite Lyric: “you make me wanna make you fall in love”

Final Score: 7/10

 

Track Eleven: “Lie To Girls”

“Lie To Girls” is another emotionally vulnerable track depicting the rose tinted glasses we often wear when we’re in love, specifically relevant to girls.  It’s confessional as it admits to the tendency girls have to be blissfully ignorant and delusional; ignoring the red flags in desperation of finding love that’s lasting and worthwhile: “I’ve never seen an ugly truth that I can’t bend…I can make a shit show look a whole lot like forever”.  The instrumental is simple, it’s the melodic changes in the second verse and bridge that keep the song sonically interesting.

Favourite Lyric: “we love to read the cold hard facts and swear they’re incorrect / we love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest”

Final Score: 8/10

 

Track Twelve: “Don’t Smile” 

“Don’t Smile” closes the standard edition of the album on a mellow note as Carpenter sings about heartbreak over an ethereal, lofi sounding track.  Twisting the common phrase “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened” Carpenter sings “Don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over / you’re supposed to think about me every time you hold her” implicating that she’s not handling the breakup as well as her ex, who has already moved on with someone new.

Favourite Lyric: “Pour my feelings in the microphone”

Final Score: 6/10

 

BONUS

Track Thirteen: “Needless To Say” 

The first bonus track, “Needless To Say”, is featured on one of the various vinyl variants of Short n’ Sweet featuring an alternate cover, but currently is not available on streaming platforms.  In the sombre track, Carpenter finds herself urging someone to focus on themselves rather than judging her for everything she does: “Need more to do than just focus on me, try working on you / I promise you’ll be much happier if you do.”  Sonically, “Needless To Say” is most similar to “Don’t Smile” or “Lie To Girls”.

Favourite Lyric: “How’s the weather in your mother’s basement?” 

Final Score: 5/10

 

Track Fourteen: “Busy Woman” 

Despite not being officially released on streaming platforms or physical formats, “Busy Woman” is a fan favourite.  Carpenter explains that although this song is one of her favourites written in the process of making Short n ‘ Sweet, it missed the cutoff to make the album.  Another upbeat Sabrina-esque pop banger,  in “Busy Woman” Carpenter sings about how she’s got a full schedule and if she’s going to love someone it’s all or nothing: “I’m a busy woman I wouldn’t let you come into my calendar any night / but if you need my kisses I’ll be your perfect missus ‘til the day that one of us dies.”

Favourite Lyric: “To turn me down, well, that’s just unethical…if you don’t want me, I’ll just deem you gay”

Final Score: 10/10

 

In summation, Short n’ Sweet lives up to its expectations; an upbeat, flirtatious pop record with humorous lyrics and a few deep cuts amongst the irresistibly danceable bops.  Arguably, it doesn’t take the crown away from emails I can’t send as Carpenters best album.  However, with various callbacks to late 90s/early 2000s pop throughout the album and its imagery, the record still screams Sabrina in a way that only makes sense when you listen to it. If you’re a guy and you don’t like this album, it makes sense, this one was definitely written for the girls!