For what feels like the first time in a while, we’ve finally got some new pop stars really going off this year. One of them is Sabrina Carpenter. Technically, the 25-year-old Carpenter isn’t new. She was a Disney child star, and she’s on her fifth album. But Carpenter has had a series of huge breakout moments this year, releasing the massive hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” The former was a true song of the summer contender — Stereogum readers voted it #2, right behind Kendrick — and the latter debuted at #1. Carpenter already sold out her upcoming arena tour — a real accomplishment in this climate. Now, her much-anticipated album Short N’ Sweet is here. On first listen, this one pays off on the promise of those two songs.
On her last album, 2022’s Emails I Can’t Send, Sabrina Carpenter really honed a persona: a horny and occasionally cartoonish femme fatale who gets in over her head in romantic situations and who’s awfully quick with an impeccably worded put-down. Short N’ Sweet brightens and sharpens that style. It’s a quick record — 12 songs in 36 minutes, no wasted motion — and all the songs are as polished as you’d hope.
Jack Antonoff produced and co-wrote four of the tracks, including “Please Please Please,” but this isn’t a superstar production-fest. There are no guests, and Carpenter worked with a small group of collaborators. She co-wrote every song with Amy Allen, the indie-leaning songwriter who released her own single “girl with a problem” a few months ago. Much of the production comes from pop veterans John Ryan and Ian Kirkpatrick.
Musically, the album doesn’t have too much of the breezy disco pulse of “Espresso,” though we do get a few understated dance beats here and there. The quasi-country feel of “Please Please Please” is way more prevalent, and the record has way more acoustic guitars than I was expecting. Parts of it really remind me of recent Carpenter duet partner Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer, Different Park, and I mean that as a huge compliment. A couple of lyrics jumped out at me right away. Consider: “You don’t have to lie to girls/ If they like you, they’ll just lie to themselves.” Or: “You’re so dumb and poetic/ It’s just what I fall for, I like the aesthetic.” That’s writing, baby!
Album opener “Taste” already feels like it’s about to be another hit. Later this morning, Sabrina Carpenter will drop the video, which features her fellow extremely small young star Jenna Ortega. Stream the album below.
Carpenter also did interviews on Apple Music, The Tonight Show (she performed too), and Chicken Shop Date, and you can watch those below.
Short N’ Sweet is out now on Island.
