This piece was originally published in the September 2024 issue of Pandora Curated.
“Oh I leave quite an impression, five feet to be exact,” sings Sabrina Carpenter, opening her sixth studio album, Short n' Sweet. A mere glance at X or TikTok however, would easily lead one to think this was her debut record, her breakout moment, one that would cement her as one of what the internet refers to as “main pop girls”.
Catalysed by the phenomenon of an earworm that is the “that’s that me espresso,” Carpenter is now here to stay. Still, she’s painted herself in a bit of a corner when it comes to placing an order at coffee shops worldwide: “They’re just waiting for me to say it.”
Her steadily mounting success that began with the shifting pop music landscape in the early years of this decade culminated in the release of her previous record, emails i can’t send, which broadened her horizons both artistically and commercially. Then came Espresso, the lead single for Short n' Sweet and certified song of the summer, along with her follow-up Please Please Please.
Carpenter’s journey to this meteoric breakout, however, has been anything short of short and sweet, perhaps most poignantly embodying the phrase “it takes 10 years to be an overnight success”. Sabrina began her career at 15, as a young Disney Channel star who had just signed with Hollywood Records to a multi-record deal. Her actual debut, Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying, an EP, released a decade ago, set the stage for her singer-songwriting ways.
The following years saw Sabrina release her first full-length studio record Eyes Wide Open and EVOlution, finessing her sonic and vocal ability with highlights like On Purpose. The latter half of the decade saw her gain heightened levels of notoriety, opening for Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour and releasing her Singular: Act I & II.
This dyad saw her transition to more thematically resonant and mature subject matters. The 2020s saw her release emails i can't send followed by her opening for Taylor Swift on the global juggernaut that is The Eras Tour.
With emails i can't send and Short n' Sweet, Carpenter sought to solidify her sonic and thematic characterisation, solidifying her aesthetic. Short n' Sweet delivers exactly what it promises, cute bops and California surf rock, with Sabrina’s cheeky humour wrapped in unskippable choruses. Her sonic shift from the more generic, bubbly realm of pop to the more current genre bedding sound has emerged as one of the more intriguing aspects of the record.
Strings, synths and guitars with a slight twang seem to occupy the majority of her sonic space on Short n' Sweet with Carpenter hopping from genre to genre, at times singing over plucky country guitars and switching over to classic Jack Antonoff-produced pop beats.
Short n' Sweet also sees Ms. Carpenter foray into R&B with reverb melodies and layered harmonies. Sonically channelling bits and pieces of Kacey Musgraves or Rilo Kiley, Sabrina also gives hints of her tutelage under prolific songwriter Taylor Swift.
Sabrina’s lyricism in Short n' Sweet is quite simply hilarious, harkening back to a time when pop songs weren’t mined for subtext and broader cultural commentary (not that that’s a bad thing). In Short n' Sweet, Carpenter embraces the frivolous, petty, and audacious self-referential humour that has made her the internet darling she is today.
Ms. Carpenter wants to have fun, and she wants us to have fun with her. Her humour doesn’t conceal the story the album wants to tell though, as is exemplified by the meaning behind the title, Short n' Sweet.
In fact, her sharp wit only enhances the storytelling, adding layers of relatability and warmth to the narrative and Sabrina’s persona. Rather than detract from the music and the album’s tone, it helps create a more accessible protagonist for the listener.
“I thought about some of these relationships, how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had and they affected me the most,” she tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, adding “And I thought about the way that I respond to situations: Sometimes it is very nice, and sometimes it’s not very nice”.
Her brutally honest wit came to the forefront when she wrote a majority of the album on a trip to a small town in rural France, as the isolation helped, Carpenter said. “There are no rules to the things you say,” she tells Lowe on the songwriting process. “You’re just like, what sounds awesome? What feels awesome? And what gets the story across, whatever story that is?”
Highlights like Please Please Please strike the balance between her sonic and lyrical stylings perfectly, as Sabrina begs her boyfriend not to embarrass her (again), poking fun at herself as well. Bed Chem and Good Graces play with R&B elements as Sabrina talks about her chemistry with her partner while also letting him know he should stay in her good graces. Juno, perhaps the most sonically and lyrically diverse and playful tracks on the album, sees Sabrina ponder parenthood over an incredible instrumental.
Contrarily, songs like Dumb & Poetic, an acoustic ballad that serves also as a caricature of someone who masks their sleazy tendencies with buzzwords and highbrow affections, are quaint yet listless. Slim Pickins, on which she croons: “This boy doesn’t even know the difference between there, their and they are” is another mostly forgettable addition to a short collection of duds.
“So much of this album was made in the moments where there was something that I just couldn’t stop laughing about. And I was like, well, that might as well just be a whole song,” she quips.
Carpenter reframes heartbreak through the lens of life’s absurdity. Her candour is refreshing in pop music and so is her pseudo-debut record. A summery evening with some iced latte and a book would suit Short n' Sweet right.
Sabrina seems to be taking it all in, her monumental success has her now headlining an arena tour of her own, scheduled to run through the Spring of next year.
It’s very apparent that Ms Carpenter may be done for now but she wants us to miss her. In her own words, “Don’t smile because it happened… cry because it’s over”.
Edited by the Curated Editorial Team
Anish Paranjape (he/him) is a student of Political Science and the Associate Editor of Culture at Political Pandora. His research interests encompass global politics and its influence on various landscapes, as well as an interest in film, television, and pop culture.
Disclaimer
Any facts, views or opinions are not intended to malign, criticise and/or disrespect any religion, group, club, organisation, company, or individual.
This article published on this website is solely representative of the author. Neither the editorial staff nor the organisation (Political Pandora) are responsible for the content.
Images in this particular article are taken from external sources and are not a property of Political Pandora. The use of these images are not meant for commercial purposes.
While we strive to present only reliable and accurate information, should you believe that any information present is incorrect or needs to be edited, please feel free to contact us.
Comments