The singer balances mainstream pop delight and stylistic versatility on her latest LP.
Sabrina Carpenter’s success has long been in the making. After releasing four studio albums under Disney’s Hollywood Records, it was with her following album emails i can’t send — her “first big-girl” album — that the starlet truly began building her distinct brand as a solo artist.
The album led to a tour in large-capacity venues, a coveted opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and a Coachella performance.
Then came “Espresso.” Carpenter “just wanted to put out a little song before Coachella,” but the summery disco-pop track skyrocketed up the charts and became an instant radio hit. Its follow-up, “Please Please Please,” soon saw equal success, even landing atop the Billboard Hot 100. With two hit singles in her back pocket, it became clear that Carpenter would be cementing her newfound position in the “main pop girl” conversation with Short ‘n Sweet.
Clocking in at just 35 minutes in length, the singer’s sixth album capitalizes on its mainstream pop potential while also taking stylistic detours into other genres. Country music is an apparent influence on several tracks, notably the guitars on “Please, Please, Please” and “Slim Pickins.”
There’s also “Coincidence,” which evokes 1970s country and folk with its acoustic strums, thumps, and hand claps — it would sound right at home sung at a shindig or around a campfire. “Sharpest Tool,” produced by Jack Antonoff, reads exactly like a Taylor Swift track with its light guitar plucks and Carpenter’s soft vocals, although its fast-paced synth pop drums bring a distinct twist.
R&B lays the foundation for several tracks too: “Good Graces” offers up fluttery flute lines, warm synths, and a bouncy Miami bass-style beat akin to recent R&B hits like Drake’s “Rich Baby Daddy” and FLO’s “Check.” “Bed Chem” takes a page from the 2000s R&B playbook with its slow kick drum pattern and starry melody that strikingly resemble Fabolous’ “Into You” (also remixed by Pop Smoke on “Something Special”).
Short ‘n Sweet is packed with pop jams while offering a stylistic versatility that helps distinguish Carpenter from her contemporaries.
Romance is a throughline on Short ‘n Sweet, with different sides and dynamics of Carpenter and her lover’s relationship being explored on each track. There are playful, tongue-in-cheek moments, such as in “Espresso” and “Juno,” where Carpenter sings jocosely about her attraction and lust towards her partner, and vice-versa. Along with “Bed Chem,” these tracks are filled with innuendo but not exempt from overt statements either (on “Juno,” she proclaims that she’s “so f*****g horny”).
Elsewhere, there are more serious moments where she pleads to her boyfriend not to embarrass her (“Please Please Please”), laments over settling for less due to never finding the perfect man (“Slim Pickins”), and the reality of willfully living in delusion to stay with an undeserving partner (“Lie to Girls”). These more serious moments are characterized by softer production and a slower ballad tempo, nicely contrasting with the record’s brighter moments. The tracklist weaves back and forth between both moods across its runtime.
“Don’t Smile” is a moody closer with its lo-fi sonic qualities and refrain of “Don’t smile ‘cause it happened, baby/Cry because it’s over.” It acts like a dark cloud moving over the album’s otherwise bright soundscape, evoking an unhappy ending to the ongoing relationship narrative.
Short ‘n Sweet is packed with pop jams while offering a stylistic versatility that helps distinguish Carpenter from her contemporaries. Having already propelled her to new heights before its release thanks to its hit singles, the album is sure to crank out another hit before she embarks on a sold-out arena tour this fall.
Score: 7.5/10
Trial Track: Juno
