Album Review: Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short n’ Sweet’

Sabrina Carpenter just released her sixth studio album, but after a monumental summer for the “Espresso” queen herself, it will act as an introduction to the singer for many.

The lead singles for the album, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” took Sabrina’s career to new heights, so much so that she’s become a fan-favorite to be nominated for “Best New Artist” at the Grammy’s -though she has technically been in the business for nearly a decade.

Both “Espresso” and “Please” landed the singer in uncharted territory on the Billboard charts, reaching the No. 3 and No.1 spots respectively. After touring to support her previous album Emails I Can’t Send, and accompanying Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour, her popularity sky-rocketed mainly due to her hilarious “Nonsense” outros going viral after every show. It is this cheeky attitude that has revamped Carpenter’s career and acted as a rebrand from the Disney-fication of her first four records.

While “Nonsense” only peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard charts, her popularity continued to grow with every move she’s made since. Enter Short n’ Sweet, where the “Espresso” singer puts her charisma and personality in the forefront of her artistry. Her latest single, “Taste,” picks up right where her previous single left off and opens the album as the first of 12 songs. The track introduces the many themes of the album that mirror a rocky relationship filled with deceit and tempations.

In most of Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina fuses country and disco into a unique and cohesive record where nothing feels too out of place. As mentioned before, the lyricism of the album is what will keep the release memorable and a standout among her other albums going forward and really cements a new chapter in her discography.

In a standout track “Juno,” she sings the chorus “I know you want my touch for life/ If you love me right, then who knows?/ I might let you make me Juno.” Part of the fun of this release is listening for her tongue-in-cheek one-liners like this, and they are surely abundant. In another track, “Dumb and Poetic” she makes fun of a Leonard Cohen loving lover saying, “Save all your breath for your floor meditation/ You’re so empathetic, you’d make a great wife/ And I promise the mushrooms aren’t changing your life.”

She has capitalized on her humor more so than she ever has and used it to an advantage that doesn’t become over-bearing. Sonically, nothing strays too far off the tracks of cautious and sounds more along the lines of her Jack Antonoff love-child “Please Please Please” than it does “Espresso.” Jack is only featured as a producer on a quarter of the album for those who suffer from Antonoff- fatigue following his recent Taylor Swift run.

Short n’ Sweet is something that new and old fans could appreciate and will leave a legacy as a turning point in her career. Some may find that the new era strays a little far from the honest and poetic writing of Emails I Can’t Send and trades it off for punchlines.

In such a crowded year of music releases, especially in the pop, alt, and country genre where Sabrina is nestled, the new shtick might be her smartest move to stand out in the crowd.