For the last year or so, Pop music has been on a hell of a run. Starting with Olivia Rodigo’s GUTS last September(you could even say starting with Lana’s March 2023 album because it was great as well), there have been so many legitimately awesome Pop songs and albums to come out. During this period, we have gotten legitimately great albums from Olivia, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, and Charli XCX. In addition to these, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa released more than solid Pop records this year, and there have been quite a few very intriguing Pop singles to come out as well. A rising Pop artist with two of the biggest singles of the year so far is Sabrina Carpenter. Admittedly, although she has had a good amount of success up until this point. I have never really dived into Sabrina Carpenter’s music. I know that she has been considered an up-and-coming Pop star for a while and has had some pretty popular tracks over the last couple of years Sabrina Carpenter has truly taken off in 2024, though. Unless you live under a rock, by this point you have definitely heard her music. Her tracks ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’ are massive hits; they have turned her from a budding Pop darling to a worldwide star. Sabrina Carpenter recently released her new album Short n’ Sweet. There is quite a bit of pressure on this record for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because of how popular she has become due to the success of those aforementioned singles; secondly, because so many of her peers have released awesome pieces of music over the last year and a half, she has a lot of competition to live up to. With that being said, here is how I feel about Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from Short n’ Sweet, and also comment on how you feel about it as a whole!
Sabrina Carpenter gets the record going with ‘Taste.’ This track is gaining quite a bit of traction online right now, mainly due to its very fun music video which features Jenna Ortega. This track has a sound that feels like a crossover between 2000s Country and 1980s Pop-Rock. There is quite a bit of twang in the very warm guitar riff that drives one, but there is something about it that gives me a retro ballad as well. Sabrina Carpenter’s vocal style on ‘Taste’ definitely leans into the Country feeling of this track. Her vocals are very luscious in ‘Taste’ and make it feel all-encompassing. On ‘Taste,’ Sabrina sings to her ex’s new partner, asserting to this person that her ex is not over her and that she will always be a looming presence for them. Next, we get the absolute smash track ‘Please Please Please.’ It would honestly surprise me if anyone reading this has not heard this one at this point considering how popular it is. To be honest, I did not get the hype for ‘Please Please Please’ when it came out, especially considering how much I enjoy ‘Espresso.’ ‘Please Please Please’ has since grown on me, though, and I can see why people dig it so much. Like the previous track, ‘Please Please Please’ has a kind of retro Country sound and very retro Pop Rock sound. There are elements of this one that make me like Sheryl Crow, but there are also elements that are sort of reminiscent of Abba. One thing is certain, and that is that Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals are great on this track. From the high notes she hits to the low, almost growling we get on the word “motherfucker” in chorus, she excels in this one. On ‘Please Please Please,’ Sabrina sings to her new partner, begging them in a tongue-in-cheek way to not hurt her or let her down. ‘Good Grace’ exchanges the Country influence we got on the last two tracks for an R&B-tinted Dance-Pop sound. I immediately feel like this one has the potential to be huge. Everything about it is fun and interesting. This track has a super soothing and sweet melody and a groovy Garage-music-influenced beat; ‘Good Grace’ feels like the kind of song that can get any club jumping, and I am pretty certain I will be hearing this one while popping off on dance floors in the coming months. As entertaining as the instrumental is, Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals are even more captivating. Her tone is just as soothing and dainty as the melody, and the quirky way she delivers certain lines on this one makes it such an earworm. On ‘Good Graces,’ Sabrina warns her new partner that she is very quick to switch up on someone who hurts her or rubs her the wrong way. ‘The Sharpest Tool’ somehow has a sound that is cookie-cutter and straightforward and quirky at the same time. I can certainly see the vision with one, but I am not entirely sure how I feel about its execution. It almost feels like a combination of the Indie Folk Pop by artists like Postal Service and the early Pop-Country made by Taylor Swift. At certain points in the track, the influence of both these artists becomes more prevalent than the other. Personally, I wish it leaned a bit more into the zany elements in the melody and beat that sound closer to Postal Service, but not everyone may feel that way. ‘The Sharpest Tool’ has Sabrina’s most low-key vocal performance of the record so far. Her vocals do fit the energy of the song though, and I enjoy her delivery a bunch. In ‘The Sharpest Tool,’ Sabrina Carpenter sings about how her ex never paid enough attention to her and how she felt like she was an afterthought for this person all of the time.
‘Coincidence’ is the first true miss for me. I do not have a lot to say about this one, except that it is not for me. To be frank, this one just kind of bores me. The melody, which is influenced by 1990s Country music, is just very vanilla and does not draw me in. There is no beat for ‘Coincidence,’ which does not help it at all. Sabrina’s vocals are nice on this one, but they are not strong enough to save this one for me. On ‘Coincidence,’ Sabrina Carpenter calls out her ex for cheating her and consistently lying. ‘Bed Chem’ is a song with a completely different sound than anything before it. This one actually sounds pretty close to ‘Espresso.’ This is the sound I would have expected the album to have had ‘Espresso’ been the only single. The Disco influence is very real on this one, not only in the super funky melody but also in the drum pattern. There is something about this one that has a bit of a 1990s R&B tone as well. I can hear this R&B influence not only in the melody but also in Sabrina’s delivery. Speaking of vocals, this one probably has my favorite vocals on the record to this point. Her delivery is eccentric and her range is great, adding to this song’s already inviting sound. On ‘Bed Chem,’ Sabrina sings about how she knows she should not go for someone because they are bad news, but can not deny the chemistry they have. Similar to ‘Please Please Please,’ if you are reading this, there is no way that you have not heard ‘Espresso.’ Unless you do not have access to the internet and never leave your home, there is probably no way you have not heard ‘Espresso.’ This is the biggest single of the year, and honestly, it should be. Everything about this song is excellent. The melody and beat are enticing, the vocals are excellent, and the lyricism is amusing. ‘Espresso’ is a quintessential Pop hit that will probably be very popular for a long time. ‘Dumb & Poetic’ considerably calms things down from the last couple of tracks. In fact, it is the most laid-back song on the record to this point. This one brings back the Country sound we are getting early on the record. I like the sentiment of this track. A lot of the songs on this point have had a bit of a comedic tone, but this one feels more serious sonically and lyrically. The emotions that Sabrina is feeling are palpable through the tone of the melody and the strength in her vocals. Sabrina shows her vulnerability through the sound and tone of this track, and the power in her vocals takes the tenderness of the track over the top. In ‘Dumb & Poetic,’ Sabrina calls out her ex for the many ways they neglected her and destroyed any chance of them being happy together.
‘Slim Pickins’ continues with the Country tone we have gotten throughout this record, albeit sounding like it is influenced by a different era of Country than any of the previous tracks. Instead of sounding like 2000s or 1990s Country, this one feels inspired by the Country of the 1950s and 1960s. There is a bright and lovely Folk tone to the guitar riff that drives this one. When I heard ‘Slim Pickins,’ I listened to the Dolly Parton or Conway Twitty music my Grandpa used to listen to when I was a kid. Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals on ‘Slim Pickins’ are pretty dainty, but still powerful. The high notes she hits on this one give the track so much life and add to the coziness of it. On ‘Slim Pickins,’ Sabrina Carpenter wonders if she will ever find a partner that is right for her, as everyone she tries to connect with seems to let her down. ‘Juno’ is yet another track that feels like it has the potential to be a major hit. The guitar riff for this one does have a 1990s Country feeling, but the synths that complement it feel influenced by 2010s Pop music. ‘Juno’ has elements that make me think of Shania Twain, and also has elements that make me think of Katy Perry. Somehow, this song almost sits right in the middle of these two artists. ‘Juno’ definitely has a twang to it, but for some reason it also really makes me think of songs like ‘California Girls.’ This is a very cool fusion that can appeal to a wide range of music fans. It will draw in Country lovers and Pop lovers alike, as it will scratch the itch they both need. As one would expect considering how this album has gone, Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals on ‘Juno’ are great. Her voice is so sultry on this track, giving it a balmy feeling that makes it extremely appealing. On ‘Juno,’ Sabrina sings of her immense attraction to her new partner. The title is a reference to the movie of the same name, as she is literally singing of wanting to make babies with this person. ‘Lie To Girls’ is another song that has a Country feeling to it, but fuses with a style of music that is usually not fused with. The Country feeling comes from the twangy guitar riff that drives this track. This guitar riff has a very melancholy tone; it takes on a bit of a twinkling sound through the synths that complement it, though. The beat for ‘Lie To Girls’ is pretty interesting and strange. It sort of has a tempo that makes me think of Trap music, but it is off-kilter in a way that also gives it a mid-2000s Indie Pop sound. As intriguing as this instrumental is, Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals make ‘Lie To Girls’ all the more captivating. I especially enjoy the layering we get through this track, as it makes ‘Lie To Girls’ feel so full. In ‘Lie To Girls,’ Sabrina Carpenter is telling her partner to stop lying to her, as she knows about all of his faults and chooses to look past them to try to make the relationship work. Out of all the ways I would have expected this record to end, I did not think we would get a song like ‘Don’t Smile.’ This track takes on a different kind of Disco tone than the one we heard on songs like ‘Espresso’ or ‘Bed Chem.’ I would say that sonically it most relates to those two if I had to compare it to anything else on this record, but It is still pretty different from those two. There is something about this one that makes me think of Yacht Rock. The funky yet sparkling melody, which mainly consists of a groovy guitar riff and a shimmering piano riff, is so reminiscent of the music of artists like Hall & Oates or Michael Bolton. There is a bit of an R&B feel to this one as well; as much as it makes me think of Yacht Rock(or Blue-Eyed Soul), it also reminds me of the music by artists like Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. I could see this one end up being a sleeper hit. Its relaxed and pleasant sound is just so nice to listen to. Once again, Sabrina Carpenter kills it vocally on this track. Her tone is so alluring and really draws the listener in. In ‘Don’t Smile,’ Sabrina Carpenter urges her ex to keep on remembering her and wants them to be sad that they are not together anymore. I am glad that Sabrina Carpenter closed out this album with ‘Don’t Smile,’ as not only does it wrap things up well lyrically, but it also sends the album out on a high note sonically in a manner I did not see coming.
As I mentioned in the introduction, there were pretty high expectations of Sabrina Carpenter going into the release of Short n’ Sweet. She had what are easily two of the biggest singles of the year in ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please,’ with ‘Espresso’ having the potential to be a defining Pop song of the last couple of years. When these kinds of expectations are put on a record, it is obviously pretty tough to live up to them. I think, for the most part, Sabrina did decently well in living up to these expectations. Now, I am not going to lie and say this record is on the level of the recent releases from Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, or Chappell Roan, but that is okay because it still has a ton of quality. The high points on Short n’ Sweet are very high. There are some songs on this album that are straight-up great(other than the singles), and that I guarantee will be on frequent rotation in my playlists for the rest of this year at least. There are also some moments that feel lackluster, or at least not close to up to par with those high points. For what it is worth, two things about this album are great throughout: its lyricism and its vocals. Sabrina Carpenter really shows off her songwriting chops on Short n’ Sweet; I love the way she can get these serious and deep emotions across in a humorous way. Sabrina Carpenter’s vocals in every song on Short n’ Sweet are excellent; she shows off her range at so many points on this record and her variety of delivery styles gives texture to each track. Overall, Short n’ Sweet shows that Sabrina Carpenter is oozing with talent and charisma, but still has room to take things to the next level. It is a good album with a lot to love, and it makes me excited to see how she continues to develop and thrive.
EAST SIDE VIBES 