Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album, “Short n’ Sweet,” features 12 songs encompassing modern pop and is filled with the kind of fun, carefree energy that fans have come to love from her work. The album was released on Friday alongside a music video for the first track in the album, “Taste.”
One thing Carpenter evidently prioritized with this album was promotion. For months, fans could see Carpenter and her name on billboards, on smoothies, at music festivals and all over social media platforms like TikTok, where she put out dynamic videos for the first two singles released from the album, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” These songs gained great attention from fans and brought in new listeners to get excited for the release of “Short n’ Sweet.”
Carpenter showcases her creativity alongside her catchy beats and playful lyricism in music videos for the album. The videos give humorous visuals featuring men in love with her or her getting payback on those who have wronged her.
A common theme in the album is unapologetic self-love, as Carpenter consistently recognizes what a catch she is and urges her love interests not to mess up. Her plays on words accompany her pop songs in the album like “Bed Chem” and “Juno,” but also shine in slower, more meaningful songs like “Dumb & Poetic” and “Coincidence.”
The sixth track in the album, “Bed Chem,” explores bedroom chemistry as Carpenter explains her fantasies of her partner. She features Shakespeare-like lyricism accompanied with humor to convey her imaginations seen in lyrics such as, “Said you’re not in my time zone, but you wanna be / Where art thou? / Why not uponeth me? / See it in my mind, let’s fulfill the prophecy.”
The third track of the album, “Good Graces,” has received plenty of love from fans for its captivating beat and attractive vocals sharing a message of self-respect. Carpenter emphasizes setting respectful boundaries in a relationship, a theme seen in lyrics such as, “Boy, it’s not that complicated / You should stay in my good graces / Or I’ll switch it up like that so fast / Cause no one’s more amazing at turning loving into hatred.”
Though many artists get labeled as basic with catchy, repetitive songs that blow up on social media, Carpenter attempts to bring more dimension, such as in the last two tracks of the album, “Lie to Girls” and “Don’t Smile.” Without instrument and tempo switch-ups, the creativity falls short and the songs can be monotonous, but Carpenter keeps listeners interested with shifts that highlight her vocals and lyricism.
In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Carpenter talked about vulnerability, artistic growth, how she opened up to being humorous in her music and how “Short n’ Sweet” differs from her previous projects.
“I just will never forget this album for teaching me so much about myself,” Carpenter said. “It’s becoming not scary to be vulnerable in my songs, it’s becoming scary for everything about me to be misunderstood and to not let it change me.”
With “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter proves that she understands the genre of modern pop with music that is catchy and fun while resonating deeply with her audience. The album’s lively beats and memorable hooks will leave fans listening as Carpenter continues to demonstrate herself as one of the leading artists in today’s pop music scene.
