The long awaited Sabrina Carpenter album “Short n’ Sweet” has finally arrived and it is just as short and sweet as Carpenter herself. Since its announcement on June 3rd, 2024 this album has been highly anticipated by fans.
According to Billboard.com, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Throughout the summer Carpenter released two teaser singles from the album that have been major hits, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please”. Currently “Espresso” is at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and has been on the chart for 19 weeks. “Please Please Please” is at number three and has been on the chart for 11 weeks. Not only are those two songs on the charts, every single other song from the album are also on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, which is no small feat for an artist.
With 12 songs on the tracklist, I think these 36 minutes of music sure do live up to the high expectations of fans. While all of the songs feature Carpenter’s signature “light and breathy” vocals, they all have their own different beat and vibe to them.
From the moments that “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” were released prior to the full album coming out, they have been playing all over the radio and social media. Although those are some of my favorite tracks, since many people have already heard them I’m going to go through my top few favorite new songs.
Starting out with an upbeat song that has guitar featured prominently throughout it, coincidence is one of my top picks from this album. In this track Carpenter sings about a love triangle that she is involved in where her partner continues to go back to his ex. The lyrics “Now her name comes up once, then it comes up twice/ And without her even bein’ here she’s back in your life” convey the exact situation she’s in. This song is rumored by fans to be about her alleged connection with Shawn Mendes early last year.
This song isn’t the most peppy on the album; it serves as a calm and tranquil track contrasted with many of the other songs. It’s lyrics deliver a very relatable message to girls. Carpenter sings about how girls will sometimes make up an idyllic version of a boy in their head even if there are major red flags with someone.“You don’t have to lie to girls/ If they like you they’ll just lie to themselves” shows how girls will sometimes lie to themselves about someone’s true actions and character. When Carpenter sings “We love to read the cold, hard facts/ And swear they’re incorrect” it displays how no matter how blatantly easy it might be to see flaws she thinks that many girls like to ignore them.
In this track Carpenter talks about having communication problems in a relationship. One thing I love about this song is the buildup of the intro as the music continues speeding up, it’s a fun and interesting way to get you hooked on the rest of the song. After the buildup Carpenter relays one line that can be true for many of the listeners’ relationships. Whether it’s romantic or platonic, a lot of people struggle with communication and issues in relationships. “You’re confused and I’m upset/ But we never talk about it” expresses how the couple are having an issue but they don’t try to talk about it.
This is one song where I absolutely love both the musical and storytelling aspects of it. Carpenter talks about how she feels like she has such few options when finding a boyfriend. When she says “Guess I’ll end this life alone/ I am not dramatic these are just the thoughts that pass right through me” she gives us a glimpse into her “not dramatic” thoughts about possibly never finding love in her life. The lyrics “A boy who’s nice, that breathes/ I swear he’s nowhere to be seen/ It’s slim pickings” show how much she feels her options are limited by saying her only requirements for a boy are being alive and nice. The background track and her vocals are fantastic in this song and it really radiates an angelic energy when you hear it.
In my opinion though there are no skips on this album, the only thing that could have made it better would’ve been if it was released a few weeks earlier. As a whole, this album sounds like it belongs playing loud in a car, driving around with the windows down in the heat of summer, and the late August release date didn’t provide a whole lot of time for that. Now it’s almost fall and while it’s still great to listen to, it’s not the same feeling. Altogether I think that this album is a well crafted addition to Carpenter’s discography and a confident step taken for her already rising career. If you’re looking for some new music to add to your playlists definitely take a listen to Short n’ Sweet. You can even see Carpenter on her Short n’ Sweet tour next month in Chicago!
