After Sabrina Carpenter took over the summer with her hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” the anticipation is building. Short and sweet She was at an all-time high. On her sixth album, the pop singer continues to surprise as she delivers a masterclass in clever songwriting, effortlessly weaving between R&B and pop. Carpenter writes about the frustrations of modern-day romance, while establishing herself as a pop classic. Here’s everything we’ve gathered from the new project.
Please please please don't underestimate her sense of humor.
Carpenter gave us a glimpse into her sense of humor in the singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please”—she works late because she’s a singer; and ceiling fans are a brilliant invention! But no one could have guessed how much fun she has in Short and sweetShe’s good at telling sweet jokes like “God forgot about my gay awakening” (“Slim Pickens”) and “What’s the weather like in your mother’s basement?” (“No need to say”). She’s also wonderfully obsessive, worrying about grammar (“This boy doesn’t even know/ The difference between ‘there’ and ‘they’ and ‘them’!”) and acting like a Shakespearean (“Where are you? Why can’t you be on top of me?”). In “Juno,” she takes a serious topic like pregnancy and turns it into a charming pop-cultural reference for generations: “If you really loved me, who knows?/ I might let you make me Juno.” It’s official: Don’t underestimate Ms. Carpenter’s pen. I am
She's stuck in another love triangle.
On her sixth album, Carpenter somehow finds herself in the middle of another love triangle. She's no stranger to this, having written “Skin” and “Obsessed” in response to the teen saga Olivia Rodrigo sang about in sourBut on Short and sweetThe songs are more explicit, the stars are bigger, the stakes are higher. The reckless man who “found God in [his] The “ex-boyfriend’s house” in “Sharpest Tool” is supposed to be Shawn Mendes, and the ex Carpenter is apparently addressing in the satirical “Taste” song is Camila Cabello. She may be writing about A-list singers, but Carpenter remains fearless. “I write songs about exactly how I feel, so I guess I can’t be too surprised that people are interested in who and what these songs are about,” she said. Rolling Stone In May. “It comes with the territory.” MG
The carpenter goes to the country
Carpenter has always been the daughter of Tay (Taylor Swift’s musical daughter), but she seems to be taking cues from other country-pop stars and legends like Kacey Musgraves and Dolly Parton. The silly “Slim Pickens” leans more into country territory than most, with her vocals mimicking Musgraves and Parton with incredible precision. “The little riffs she does are so weird and unique—she does something that’s kind of weird and almost classic country,” producer Jack Antonoff told Rolling Stone earlier this year. Vocally, Short and sweet Carpenter finds herself leaning towards bold acoustic guitars throughout the album. Within two years, she may switch to more raucous riffs. MG
Leonard Cohen, pop music's most famous inspiration
It wasn’t long before Boygenius released a song about Leonard Cohen, who was “writing sex poetry in a Buddhist monastery.” Carpenter hears a note from the boys on “Dumb & Poetic,” a two-minute acoustic ballad in which she bids farewell to a healthy, well-mannered man, the kind of creep who rips off quotes from self-help books. There are some great lyrics here—“Hold every breath to meditate on the earth,” “I promise mushrooms won’t change your life”—but nothing is more poignant than a reference to the late songwriter who had a way with women. “Try to sound like you’re nice and well-spoken/Dance to Leonard Cohen’s lyrics,” she sings—and that’s just the first verse. Cohen died eight years ago, and one can only imagine his reaction to being pop’s hottest muse. – I am
The power of reaction
For more simplistic pop artists, “retro ’80s” often means adding some new wave synths to your song and calling it a day. But when it comes to reworking retro pop, Sabrina Carpenter has a unique light touch and academic attention to detail. Short and sweet The gorgeous single “Taste” opens with a sultry kiss from a new partner to an ex, with a melody that lovingly and affectionately harks back to Kim Carnes’ classic “Bette Davis Eyes,” which spent nine weeks at the top of the charts in 1981 and won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Carpenter makes this classic reference her own, just as she did on her previous summer hits “Please Please Please” and “Espresso.” – grandfather
