Now that we’re coming to the end of a ‘brat’ summer, Sabrina Carpenter’s new album has tied up the season into a sassy and pop-filled bow. “Short n’ Sweet,” released on Aug. 23, is Carpenter’s sixth studio album. At just 25, Carpenter continues to wow the music industry after her career in the Disney Channel community.  

Following our summer of unnecessarily relatable album releases like Gracie Abrams’ “The Secret of Us,” Clairo’s “Charm” and Charli XCX’s “brat,” this refreshing and heartbreaking album is one of Carpenter’s best. 

This album, following Carpenter’s 2022 release of “emails i can’t send” is an upbeat, lustful compilation of tracks ranging from depressing to vengeful. Her painfully honest lyrics hit her listeners with their relatability and wittiness. 

The day “Short n’ Sweet” debuted, Carpenter posted on Instagram a carousel of photos and videos of her writing experience and production of the album. “The making of Short n’ Sweet was one of the most special, honest, up and down, stupid and fun experiences of my life,” Carpenter captioned the post. “I thought if something was funny enough to make me laugh then maybe it belonged in a song. Happy or sad!” 

The first track on the album, “Taste,” brings a risqué flavor of revenge and sabotage as the third and highly anticipated single alongside its sisters, “Please Please Please” and “Espresso.”

The “Taste” music video, starring Carpenter and fellow actress Jenna Ortega has remarkably similar scenes to the 1992 film, “Death Becomes Her.” Already on its way to the top of the Billboard charts, “Taste” explores Carpenter’s jealousy of her ex-boyfriend and the premonition to be with his current girlfriend, rather than the man himself. A well-chosen first track, “Taste” is the perfect song we needed to finish our summer. 

The second track on this album is another single, and the most popular; “Please Please Please.” Produced by Jack Antonoff, this peppy and optimistic song presumably follows Carpenter’s desire for her then boyfriend, Barry Keoghan, not to break her heart or ruin her ego. It also grapples with the idea of loving someone who may not have the best reputation and the fear of them embarrassing you.

Released on June 6, the accompanying music video starred Barry Keoghan, as the love interest. Most commonly, you’ve probably heard the lyrics, “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another/ I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf*cker,” circling around TikTok. The relatability and rawness of the lyrics attracts audiences, and it’s undeniable that Carpenter has produced another masterpiece. 

The third track on “Short n’ Sweet” is named “Good Graces.” The lyrics, “You should stay in my good graces/Or I’ll switch it up like that so fast,” hint at Carpenter’s security and assertiveness in her relationships. Proven by the frigid nature of “Taste,” this song holds any man accountable for their potential wrongdoing. While this album could be closely compared to the revenge of Taylor Swift’s “Reputation,” simply based on the lyrics, Carpenter’s fans are familiar with the idea that she’s not to be messed with. 

“Sharpest Tool” is the fourth track on the album that pictures Carpenter describing one of her exes as “not the sharpest tool in the shed,” implying that he wasn’t mentally present in their relationship. The persistent use of the line, “We don’t talk about it, we don’t talk about it (We never talk about it)” implies that Carpenter thinks they didn’t have a very honest and open-hearted relationship. Whoever hurt Carpenter, I hope she’s okay. She’ll find someone better.  

The album’s fifth track, titled “Coincidence,” seems like a sequel of “Sharpest Tool,” hinting at the infidelity or betrayal of Carpenter’s love interest. Unlike the other tracks on the album, “Coincidence” plays with more instrumentals, giving it the potential to be a country song. The lyrics, “Last week, you didn’t have any doubts/This week, you’re holding space for her tongue in your mouth,” points to the supposed love interest always having Carpenter as a backup, in case his other relationships didn’t work out. It’s clear that the artist was the third person in a love triangle. 

The somewhat provocatively titled song, “Bed Chem,” is the sixth track of the album. Upbeat with a twist of romanticism and sexuality, Carpenter manifests the new moments of a relationship that are exciting and unfamiliar. The lyrics, “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent,” are the not-so-subtle hints to the “Saltburn” actor Barry Keogan and the white jacket he wore when the two met at Paris Fashion Week in September 2023. While the ‘Bed Chem’ may not have lasted longer than nine months for the couple, Keogan will be a noted name in the mouths of Carpenter’s fans. 

My personal least favorite (which is a controversial opinion) is the seventh track, and final single: “Espresso.” While it’s catchy and upbeat, it’s wildly overplayed which can have a negative effect on listeners. The lyrics compare Carpenter to coffee, implying that her partner can’t sleep when he’s with her. “Now he’s thinkin’ ‘bout me every night, oh/Isn’t that sweet? I guess so,” shows that the artist knows she deserves to be treated well. Carpenter’s songs are brewing, just like her confidence. 

“Dumb & Poetic,” the eighth track on “Short n’ Sweet” is all poetic, and anything but dumb. This track immediately reminded me of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” that was released in September 2023, based on the lyrics and solemnity. The melancholy nature of the lyrics makes us want to wrap Carpenter up in a big hug.

The lyrics, “Don’t think you understand/Just ‘cause you talk like one doesn’t make you a man” shows Carpenter’s grieving over what she and her partner had before he broke her heart. Additionally, the line, “And I promise the mushrooms aren’t changing your life,” also hints at her partner’s drug habits that take their attention away from her. 

Carpenter’s ninth track titled “Slim Pickins” indicates her inability to find a genuinely good person to date, so she’ll settle for whatever she’s given. The lyrics, “Since the good ones are deceased or taken/I’ll just keep on moanin’ and b!tchin’” show that Carpenter will eventually have to accept what she has, even though she may not be happy about it. This track also explores more instrumentals similar to “Coincidence,” adding a western vibe into Carpenter’s discography. Overall, fans hope Carpenter will find someone that she truly loves, rather than having to settle for anything less.

Presumed to be compared to the 2007 film, “Juno” explores Carpenter’s idea of wanting to be pregnant because of the way her partner’s ‘bed chem’ is so good. This theory is proven by the line, “One of me is cute, but two though?” Whether or not Carpenter genuinely wants a baby, this song points to the idea that at least her relationship is being rebirthed. 

The penultimate track on “Short n’ Sweet” is titled “Lie to Girls.” This song explores the limits of what girls will do for the boys in their relationships. The lyrics also remind me highly of some of Olivia Rodrigo’s songs from “Guts.” Specifically, “pretty isn’t pretty,” which indicates the expectations of girls/women in society.

Carpenter’s lyrics, “Girls will cry and girls will lie and/Girls will lose their goddamn minds for you” hint that it’s hard for Carpenter to contain her reputation when her partner is who he is. For all the men out there, don’t lie to girls!

The final song that wraps up the album, named “Don’t Smile” ties the tracks up in a depressing, yet fitting song. The lyrics, “Oh, you’re supposed to think about me/Every time you hold her” implies that Carpenter still misses her ex, no matter what may have happened in their relationship. Through this, Carpenter is telling her listeners that missing someone and longing for a relationship is a very real emotion to have after a breakup. 

Across 12 tracks, 36 minutes and 15 seconds, Sabrina Carpenter has wowed us yet again. Through wrenchingly sanguine lyrics and imposing bridges, we have now seen a deeper look into the past two years of Carpenter’s love life since her last album release. Listen to this no-skip album now, wherever you get your music! I highly recommend it!

Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Emma Short and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com