Disclaimer: This article is an opinion piece and not a guide to how you should feel about the album; it is all based on personal tastes and in good fun. Enjoy!
After a summer of hit singles from pop-singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter, she’s back with a refreshing new album that’s cheeky, clever, and true to her brand. This 6th full-length album complete with 12 new tracks, entitled Short n’ Sweet, describes young love as cute fun and games, until it’s not. However, some disagree.
Marketing
Julie: Sabrina Carpenter, who has recently skyrocketed in popularity as an opening act for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, is known as a pop culture icon to anyone who even catches a glimpse of her on social media. The most notable aspect of her ascension to fame now, can be attributed to how well Carpenter and her team have capitalized on the chance to promote her music.
Short n’ Sweet arrives as two ubiquitous summer singles: “Espresso”, and “Please Please Please”. Both these songs stay incredibly true to her branding, as she portrays herself as a nonchalant baddie in multiple aspects. She continues this throughout the rest of the album. In “Coincidence”, Carpenter uses sassy and more flirtatious lyrics that scream confidence, but aren’t overly arrogant. I think songs like these are what really contribute to the overall success of Carpenter’s branding, they further paint the picture of her as an unattainable, self-assured figure who doesn’t need the validation of others to find happiness.
Kaz: As a general concept, Carpenter made a wise choice with modern marketing; appealing to Tik Tok and getting songs to go viral. In traditional album releases, the singles were released about three months before the album and then got played on the radio often. However, because of the nature of modern song publicity, which is primarily on social media, they quickly get stale. I can’t be the only one who got tired of hearing the same clip of “Espresso” or “Please Please Please” over and over again on every video I watched. The longer the singles were out, the more it got on my nerves, and eventually steered me towards the path of resentment. This strategy of trending songs is smart for singles and general publicity, but not wise for an entire album, particularly when the trend lasts so long. The peak of the single “Taste”, which also came out the day of the album, at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 also proved that she didn’t need to let these songs sit and become overplayed before releasing the whole album.
Instrumentals
Julie: As someone who is an avid listener of the ‘white girl’ music genre, Short n’ Sweet tracks as a whole may sound pretty similar to those other artists, being that the instrumentals all draw inspiration from each other. Jack Antanoff, one of pop music’s most prolific songwriters and producers, had a heavy influence on this album. This is highlighted in “Slim Pickins”, a revamp of the classic country genre that uses key string-band country instrumentals. It’s among one of my favorite tracks because of how different it is, which is something I really appreciate about this album. It’s not everyday that you hear elements of country in pop albums like Short n’ Sweet.
Kaz: The most evident problem with the instrumental parts of the album is that they are very safe. Most pop fans tend to enjoy a mellow and simple beat that they can easily vibe to; however, the lack of complex rhythm sections ended up making many songs feel bland. Many of the drum sections feel very manufactured and stand out to me as generated drum noise, and they were by far one of the weakest parts of her songs. If the vocals were taken away, her songs would be incredibly mediocre at best, and even with the vocals, the instruments don’t do enough to make the songs interesting, especially if you don’t relate to her lyrics. Her best songs are the songs where she doesn’t stick to this basic formula, such as “Coincidence” or “Slim Pickins”, and she has shown that she is able to pull off guitar with her singing style, so her adherence to the boring rhythms is disappointing to say the least.
Vocals
Julie: The vocals on this album feel very different. I haven’t necessarily been a longtime follower of Sabrina’s, but from listening to her preceding album, emails i can’t send, her vocals are definitely not the same level. In many places, she utilizes both her head and chest voice very well to fit the character of the song. “Don’t Smile” has a very delicate tone and flow, and I think her choice of using head voice very much suits the vibe. The same can be said in the opposite way in “Lie to Girls”, as she is singing about a heavier topic and chooses to sing with her head voice to convey that.
I am by no means experienced with vocal performance, so my opinion is all subjective. However, her vocals always sound professional and clear, even live while she is on tour. As a fan I can only hope that I’ll someday get the chance to hear her live, but for now, listening to Short n’ Sweet will have to be an equal experience!
Kaz: Sabrina’s vocals are the clear highlight of this album, with exceptional layering between her main track and her backing vocals; however, the range she showcased here was underselling of her talent as a whole. In previous albums, such as Singular Act I and II, she has proven she is an incredible belter, with a unique texture to her voice that isn’t usually seen in conventional pop artists. Short n’ Sweet does not harness this as much as she could, instead opting to go for a more “mainstream” vocal performance. She can be heard sounding similar to a precedent set by other artists such as Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift, even reaching a point where her voice is indistinguishable from these artists. Her strongest songs dip back into her roots of utilizing a particular tone and texture, and creating breaks between singing and talking, such as “Bed Chem”.
Lyrics
Julie: This album in itself stays very true to Sabrina’s brand. Her lyrics are always very clever, using double entendres with underlying meanings that require listeners to pay close attention in order to figure out. I have always preferred songs to be written out in that style, as leaving open interpretation of lyrics holds a deeper level of artistry. “Bed Chem” is a good example of her use of word play. On one hand, the term bed chem can sound similar to bad chem, which insinuates that the tension just isn’t there, but the rest of the other lyrics clearly state the opposite. I think this is just another very clever component of her songs.
Kaz: Carpenter certainly has a distinct style of lyrics, focusing on her experiences with dating and being a mistress of sorts. However, this seems to be all her music is about. Her entire album revolves around this type of lyricism, and tends to make her songs indistinguishable from each other by lyrics alone. She never seems to change up how she is speaking about these events either, and it makes the album as a whole feel repetitive and lack a full storyline. I also don’t particularly care for these kinds of lyrics, so that may taint my opinion of them.
Music Video
Julie: This is the only negative thing I have to say about this album! There is definitely a reason why parental advisory is suggested, because it was something I really wasn’t expecting to see out of Sabrina. Although her past music videos historically have contained several suggestive scenes, this music video was just straight gore.
Kaz: The “Taste” music video featuring Jenna Ortega was one of the highlights of this album, and even pushed this song more in my favor. It features over the top gore, and brings a new flavor to an otherwise basic pop album. The campy ways the girls maim each other, from Carpenter getting impaled by a fence post to Ortega receiving a knife to the eye, truly brings into light the way that women aggressively attack each other over a mediocre man who doesn’t deserve either one of them. The most iconic part of this video is when Jenna and Sabrina share a kiss, and in a blind rage, Jenna takes out Sabrina, only to discover that it was her boyfriend all along. They then make up and realize that they never really liked him to begin with, showing a deeper meaning behind her song. Carpenter carefully intertwines her comedy and her deeper meaning to overall make an entertaining, yet easy to understand, message.
CONCLUSION
Julie’s ranking (8/10)
“Relaxing album, somewhat relatable!”
Kaz’s ranking (5/10)
“As mid as you can get”
Well, that’s about it for our review! We’ll keep this last bit short and sweet. Listening to this album was certainly a journey for the both of us, the good and the bad. Give it a listen, or not, but if you’re a fan of Sabrina’s then don’t forget to catch her on tour, live on October 19, 2024 at the Raleigh Lenovo Center!
