Sabrina Carpenter is a rising star in pop music. Following a successful tour for her 2022 album ‘emails i can’t send,’ and releasing successful singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” many anticipated another album. Her sixth, ‘Short n’ Sweet,’ was released on Aug. 23.
The album is a reflection of Carpenter’s recent relationships.
There were high hopes for ‘Short n’ Sweet’, especially since Carpenter gained a wave of new fans — gaining her a career peak of over 80 million Spotify listeners — and her first sold-out arena tour. As a new Carpenter fan myself, I had high expectations for the album, considering the album’s short runtime of around 35 minutes.
“Taste” is the opener for ‘Short n’ Sweet’. Carpenter sings about an ex-partner getting back with his ex, but her presence will always be in their relationship. Carpenter expresses jealousy, claiming that he was hers first, as she sings in the lyrics, “Everytime you close your eyes / And feel his lips, you’re feelin’ mine / And everytime you breathe his air / Just know I was already there”
In the upbeat “Please Please Please,” Carpenter sings directly to her boyfriend, begging him to not act up. It was produced by pop producer Jack Antonoff. While I dislike Antonoff’s reused synth-pop work on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ re-recording (2023) and ‘Tortured Poets’ (2024), this song is an exception. I couldn’t tell that he produced this.
Following is “Good Graces,” where she tells her boyfriend to “stay in her good graces,” and if he doesn’t she’ll drop him and won’t care about him. This is a fun dance song, but half the song’s lyrics consist of the single line, “I won’t give a – about you.”
The popular coffee song “Espresso” is always a hit. It’s a song one would listen to in a good mood. Carpenter does a play on words throughout the lyrics such as, “that’s that me espresso” and “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya,” to convey the message that a guy would stay up all night thinking about her.
One song stood out to me upon first listen, which is “Dumb & Poetic.” It heavily reminds me of SZA’s “Nobody Gets Me” (2022) from the first verse because of its build-up. It runs at around 2 minutes and is the shortest on the album.
The album closes with “Don’t Smile,” a more somber song compared to the previous tracks. A song about heartbreak, Carpenter sings that she wants an ex to cry because of their relationship ending. This is prominent when she sings, “Oh you’re supposed to think about me everytime you hold her.”
As a whole, ‘Short n’ Sweet’ is a strong album with three great singles. Unfortunately, 30 minutes is short in my opinion, which is common with recent music releases. She could make her 2 minute songs longer, as those songs account for half of the album, but there is probably a reason behind not having these songs longer.
Carpenter will embark on her “Short n’ Sweet Tour” beginning on Sept. 23 and will visit Illinois at the United Center in Chicago on Oct. 13.
I give Carpenter’s ‘Short n’ Sweet’ an 8/10 for the short runtime but its sweet melodies.
