Sugar, spice, and everything nice. “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter is an absolutely captivating pop album that perfectly resonates with the end of summer. Carpenter’s sixth album was released on August 23, 2024. This was Carpenter’s second album with Island Records after her contract ended with Hollywood Records, the record label of the Disney Music Group, with whom she signed a five-album deal in 2013.
The album is certainly short—only 12 songs that total to 36 minutes of pop perfection. Within the album, Carpenter focuses on themes of getting over an old relationship and getting into a new one and expertly blends them together with strong synth sounds and witty lyricism in order to create a deliciously sweet album that keeps listeners coming back for more.
The opening track on the album is “Taste,” which was, as many tracks on the album were, produced and co-written by John Ryan. Ryan has previously worked with Carpenter on her viral song, “Feather,” and has also worked with the popular British boy band One Direction. The two-minute 37-second track is one of three songs with a viral music video, with this one starring Jenna Ortega. The music video for the song iconically references many classic movies: “Death Becomes Her,” “Ginger Snaps,” “Kill Bill: Volume 1,” “Psycho,” and “Addams Family Values” in order to create a video that hilariously visualizes the lyrics of the song. The track has a strong beat and drum presence that is a wee bit reminiscent of some rock songs. The synth pattern heard throughout the album serves its purpose as an opening track and clearly defines the album for what it is: an exceptional pop album.
“Please, Please, Please” is the second track on the album and also a single released on June 6. The synth pop was produced by Jack Antonoff, who is known for producing this style and working with artists such as Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde. The layering of Carpenter’s voice within the song is impeccable. The song is about Carpenter pleading with her new boyfriend not to do something to embarrass her after making their relationship public. Ironically, Carpenter chose to feature Barry Keoghan, her boyfriend, in the music video for this song, leaving many in awe of her bold decision. Sonically, the song has fantastic layering of Carpenter’s voice to create a choral effect, along with a groovy backing track that ties the song together into a viral sensation. On April 11, Carpenter released the album’s lead single, “Espresso.” After its release, the track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Carpenter’s first top ten single and her highest-peak on the charts. With flirtatious lyrics and sexual innuendos such as “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya,” Carpenter demonstrates how she recognizes that lyrics can be quirky and humorous, as Carpenter has also done in her live performances of the outros of her song “Nonsense.” This track was the perfect choice for a single, and does an amazing job of defining the tone and mood of this sultry summery album.
Somewhat suddenly, the ninth track on the album moves away from the crisp, clean, synth pop sound and goes country. “Slim Pickins” is a country-pop track that emulates many Dolly Parton songs. This song also is more relatable to listeners that are not as fortunate in the romance department. With a balance of witty and relatable lyrics along with its distinct sound, this song is a stand- out on the album full of synth pop. The track covers themes of being in love, breaking up, and longing for affection from the point of view of a hopeless romantic all with a little country twang.“Juno” is another stand out song towards the end of the album. With its bright sound, Carpenter heavily references the 2007 film starring Elliot Page and Michael Cera. The aspect of the film that Sabrina references is Juno’s pregnancy. With the title-drop lyric in the chorus being, “If you love me right, then who knows? I might let you make me Juno,” Carpenter elaborates on her desires with a somewhat ironic lyricism. This unexpected approach produced a bubbly, giggly, and unserious song about a serious topic, similar to the comedy movie, and was executed flawlessly in a song that “just makes you want to fall in love.”
To close the album, Carpenter ends with “Don’t Smile,” a track with an R&B and almost Lo- fi influence. This song is the best way to end the album, with its nostalgic lyricism, there is a perfect parallelism between the ending of Carpenter’s relationship and the end of the album, with a retrospective sound.
Looking at the album in whole, the sound is cohesive, but not repetitive. While there are stylistic differences between the songs, the contrast between the tracks adds to the listening experience of the album, all-in-all adding to the quirk of the album. With her unserious lyrics, Carpenter’s strong vocals, and beautiful production, this sweet album is nothing short of pop perfection.
