“Short n Sweet” is the perfect seasonal transition album

After much wait and a wildly successful year, Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album “Short n Sweet” dropped Friday and it’s a mix of fun, flirty soft pop, making it a smooth transition from the shimmery beats of summer to the gentler, yet warm feelings of fall.

The album’s first single “Espresso” needs no introduction. Released on April 12, the song quickly grew in popularity on social media, shooting Carpenter to the top of the charts in over 18 countries and the Billboard Hot 100. The disco-funk hit reached over 1 billion streams on Spotify on Aug. 6. 

While “Espresso” is in the middle of the tracklist, streamers expect it to be full of poppy hits, but Carpenter takes a turn into soft pop and even some country-like hits. “Please Please Please” has a gentle beat but threatening words of “I beg you don’t embarrass me motherf***er.” The third single “Taste,” released hours before the album dropped, is full of early 2010s energy and a slasher easter egg-packed music video featuring scream queen Jenna Ortega.

The album doesn’t shy away from sensual lyrics full of cheeky, double entendres. It doesn’t hold back how Carpenter feels about her sexuality, making others feel free to discuss openly about their wants and desires. “Juno” references not only the 2007 movie but also the Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth. 

High notes in lines “You make me want to make you fall in love” and “one of me is cute/but two, though?” are reminiscent of Ariana Grande’s album “Positions” and could easily make the song fit right in. “Bed Chem” follows suit by a stranger reaching out after a brief encounter and what a night between the two of them would look like.

Summer fades into fall as Carpenter’s literary genius shines through slowed-down ballads. “Don’t Smile” flips the script on the famous saying “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” An R&B-sounding background sets the mood as Carpenter wants her ex to miss her, telling her friends to take her phone so she can’t reach out. 

Inklings of late-teen angst are peppered throughout “Dumb and Poetic.” Carpenter’s voice shines through a gorgeous flow of high notes in “Don’t think you/understand” only for the following lyric to drop her voice into a melancholic state when she croons “just ‘cause you talk like one/doesn’t make you a man.”

There are a couple of songs that don’t seem to fit the vibes of the album as they fall more into the twang of country rather than pop hits. “Slim Pickens” is a guitar-laden song of Carpenter complaining about the lack of available and worthy men to choose from. “Coincidence” carries on a similar theme of how her ex just so happened to run into their ex-girlfriend out of the blue. It’s not to say Carpenter can’t carry a tune on these songs, but she should have considered releasing a country album where these would have fit better. 

The 12-song record packs a punch in 36 minutes, making it easy to play on repeat. Carpenter has proven her talents as a song-writer by delivering witty, sexy lyrics while still connecting to the hearts of the listeners. Half of the album has the best way to close out the summer of 2024 while the rest of the album joyfully welcomes the fall season with slower, more laid-back songs, sure to pair perfectly with cooler weather.

Write to Emma Johnson at emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu