After Sabrina Carpenter released the highly acclaimed “Espresso,” the following summer was spent with fans anticipating the release of her 6th studio album, “Short n’ Sweet.” At the same time, “Espresso” skyrocketed on the charts, being the quickest song to reach 1.2 billion streams. When the album finally released Aug. 23, 2024, it did not disappoint as Carpenter personified pop perfection, and “Short n’ Sweet” cemented her into pop stardom.
This album features country elements that you might hear on a Dolly Parton record, riffs reminiscent of Ariana Grande, and 80s synths similar to The 1975. Working with her four producers – Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Jack Antonoff – she goes to very different places with each song. She goes from slower, more lyric based songs like “Dumb & Poetic” to upbeat traditional pop songs like “Good Graces.”
While the production choices of each song are interesting, well crafted and unique from each other, the album lacks cohesion or common elements between songs. Carpenter’s choice to use four different producers on separate songs, created a problem where Carpenter fails to showcase a signature style in her production. If another artist covered “Lie To Girls,” the listener would not be able to detect it as Carpenter’s song in the same way you would be able to with another pop star like Taylor Swift or Gracie Abrams.
While her production is inconsistent in style, where Carpenter differentiates herself is in her sharp, humorous lyricism. While other artists choose to be subtle, Carpenter’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics have struck a chord with audiences. A standout lyric was in the penultimate track, “Lie To Girls” were: “We love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest.” Another example of her strong lyricism was in the 5th song on the tracklist, “Coincidence” “What a surprise, your phone just died/ Your car drove itself from L.A. to her thighs.”
Much like the title, Carpenter’s 6th studio album is a short and sweet listen. The album is undeniably fun and very easily digestible for a mainstream audience. It’s no wonder it’s being blasted on repeat in every shopping mall.
