Short n' Sweet, a ranking n’ review

Oomf dropped the Album of the (end of) Summer!

One of the most astronomical pop eras of 2024 is undeniably Sabrina Carpenter’s rollout to her recently released album, Short n’ Sweet. She has been everywhere.

The era started when she released Espresso in April. She dropped it alongside a music video and then performed it for her set at Coachella. Though she had already made a decent name for herself with chart hits such Nonsense and Feather taking off within the past two or three years, she’s also had a sizeable and consistently growing fanbase since her Disney days - it’s hard to ignore how Espresso took her to entirely new heights… the top 5 of the Billboard charts, to be exact. Since May 6th, Espresso has remained in the top 10 consistently. Though it has yet to peak at #1, peaking at #3, it is the highest streamed song on Spotify released by a woman of 2024. Sabrina’s follow-up single, Please Please Please, debuted at #1. Her album dropped on August 23rd, 2024, and it is very quickly becoming one of the biggest albums of the year.

(Pictured Above: Twitter mutual to the not j*ss page, Sabrina Carpenter, pictured with Target Exclusive CDs of her new album, Short n’ Sweet, Source: Instagram)

It’s hard to even overstate the rise this era has had from her past albums. If there were any doubt before, which to me there has been none at all, she has it!! The main pop girl recipe.

Before I get into the individual songs, I’ll present to you my overall thoughts on the album. I really like just about every song individually. I appreciate that she is still actively exploring different influences with her sound, I think it’s smart to find your footing as you continue to evolve as an artist. Though, on the first few listens particularly, the way it was sequenced became a bit jarring at times. She did every sound and genre influence justice, but I felt as though this body of work could become a little aimless at certain points in the album.

After a week of sitting on it, though, I’ve backtracked on that “criticism” a bit. The album is not without a throughline, after all. This body of work can be seen as a snapshot of an era of her life, focusing on the relationships she has been in - sometimes short-lived, other times current, then a few songs explicitly about fucking!!! So, the stories of each song do tend to parallel another song or two, at least. Or they do so well enough to feel cohesive as a project upon second glance. I’d say my semi-confused reaction upon first listen was stemmed from the visual aesthetic of this era being disconnected from the sound of the album itself. My expectations going in were a bit subverted, but in a way that I have grown to appreciate a lot. Sabrina can make a pop song like no other. As I said, she has it.

One of my favorite aspects of this album is the wordplay in her lyricism. A lesser artist wouldn’t have been able to translate her personality and humor into their work as well as she did, quite effortlessly at that. She took her post-Nonsense outro branding and managed to stay clever and fresh, rather than cheap and boring. I also think her leaning into lighthearted humor has shined throughout each of the three music videos for this era. I’ve always enjoyed her music videos because she just knows how to make a MOMENT through a visual medium, I must applaud.

Needless to say, I will not be ranking Needless to Say or Busy Woman. For now, I’m just looking at the most accessible and standard track-listing. Also needless to say, I’ve only had this album for a week. My ranking is very tentative and has changed multiple times whilst writing this issue. This is simply just a “first” official impression ranking. Actively evolving. I’m also not going to speculate on who or what any song is about, as well. Outside of the most straight forward meaning, obviously. That’s not my business! Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved.

RANKING.

12. Dumb & Poetic

Favorite Lyric: “Just ‘cause you leave like one, doesn’t make you a man.”

I’m going to apologize in advance to Dumb & Poetic hive. Last is never an easy place to be ranked at. Though it isn’t the most popular song on the album, I do already know she has her audience, and I’m sure they’ll find my replies to let me know how ridiculous I’m being… LISTEN. I don’t hate any song on this album. This isn’t a skip, even. I find her vocals on the track to be quite incredible. I also find the last chorus to be quite great, just overall. I really just don’t love the lyricism on this song, for the most part. I thought Verse 2 was growing on me, and it sort of is, but then the second half of the verse starts losing me again.

This is obviously VERY subjective to me, and I’m not saying the lyrics are bad. The concept of the song really resonates with me on a personal level, actually, but the substance doesn’t align with my personal tastes. There’s nothing I can point and say is “wrong” with it, I just can’t say the lyrics entirely flow in a way I would like. The Leonard Cohen name-drop really takes me out. The instrumental track isn’t just my favorite thing either, though it isn’t ear-sore-ish at all - I specifically enjoy how the instrumental builds for a moment in the final chorus. It’s the lovely vocal performance from Sabrina is what makes me think it will still grow on me over time.

11. Espresso

Favorite Lyric: “I’m working laaaaaaaaaaaaate, cause I’m a SINGER!!!!”

This one, I’m already prepared for the tomatoes being thrown at me. I accept it. If you may hear me out… in terms of quality and nothing else, I would rank it higher. Just in context of the album, it causes a tonal dissonance. Remember how I said I don’t feel as though the visual aesthetic this era was marketed with matches the sound of the album itself? And that it took me out of the album on first listen? This is what causes that, for me. It’s all so retro mid 20th century core stylistically, and this track has become so near and dear to Sabrina’s brand now, but… the rest of the album is late 90s-early 00s inspired, so… it just stands out to me. It doesn’t really feel part of the album, in story or tone. Am I the only one who feels this way? I’m not totally convinced this was always envisioned as part of this album.

Don’t see this as me saying Espresso is the second worst song on the album, I don’t even fully believe that. I just think its placement on the album contrasts the rest of the project. It exists in a context.

10. Please Please Please

Favorite Lyric: “We could live so happily, if no one knows that you’re with me.”

I don’t think anybody will be mad at me placing this here, because on my timeline… I was riding for her alone, but I’m going to be mad at myself for the lot of you because I actually love Please Please Please. Way more than this placement suggests. This a tentative placement as I learn all of these new songs. I just can’t accurately compare songs I’ve known for months to songs I’ve known for a week. On first listen, this became one of my favorite Sabrina songs, and it never grew off me - I just haven’t listened to it as much lately, because I’m more compelled to hear the rest of the album first and foremost.

What I love about this song is the amount of fun she has with her vocals on the track. The vocal production and layering that is at play, ohhh. Just excellent. Some of her best work. In the second chorus she sings “heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another” and the backing track is her going, “egosANOTHER!” very quick. Oh, I live.

I almost elected to Not Count the two pre-album release singles, because they’ve existed with me for so much longer than everything else. I can’t possibly know where this ranking will be even just next month. Right now, this lands here - but I am so certain I will revisit this ranking in one year and be confused as to why I placed this song here. Other songs are just taking over me right now. I have priorities.

9. Don’t Smile

Favorite Lyric: “Don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over.”

I’ve been made hyper-aware that this song is one of those tracks with a very strong fanbase who avidly consider it to be top 3 on the album and amongst her best songs to date… I actually almost scrapped this entire issue just to avoid the backlash. Let it be known, I’m SORRY!!!! The music is perfect. Verse 2, particularly, is one of the best sounding verses on this album. Personally? I’d say it works a bit better as an album closer rather than a song on its own, which is why it had to fall rather low for me despite not having any awkward moments in lyric or sound. It feels like the ending credits to the album, I feel like I’m watching the names roll. If I’m listening to it, I usually prefer doing so after hearing the rest of the album - even narratively speaking and in sequencing, the song hits differently after hearing songs about all these different experiences in her life. A culmination of the album, of sorts.

8. Taste

Favorite Lyric: “He’s funny now, all his jokes hit different - guess who he learned that from?”

Her best music video, if I do say so myself. I love Death Becomes Her. I know this wasn’t the lyric I singled out above, but I have to rally some love for her opening the album with, “Oh, I leave quite an impression. 5 feet to be exact.” This album has many allusions to its title, but nothing could’ve opened the album better. I don’t have much to say, other than… I do really like this song. Conceptually, it isn’t entirely new ground, but it sounds so good on her.

Not related to the song itself, but the behind the scenes of the video… the Sabrina/Jenna dynamic is everything to me! Two pretty and short friends. Love to see it.

7. Slim Pickins

Favorite Lyric: “This boy doesn’t know the difference between there, their, and they are.”

I feel as though this song has gotten the blues from much of my timeline, and here’s where I come to play the defense attorney, actually. This may be ranked in my bottom half of the album, but this entire top 8 has, at one point or another, been considered amongst my top 3 since album release, so… you can’t be mad, like, we’re in the upper tier even if we’re not, in a literal sense.

For starters, I think this is one of the best sounding tracks on the album. The instrumental track immediately ignites something inside of me. As a long-time fan of Ms. Parton, the clear Dolly influences are everything, and this may be the best she’s bodied a sound in her vocal delivery to date. These aren’t the points of dispute in question, though. People have really hated on the lyricism on this song specifically, but I think people are being a little strict about that. I actually find the verses capture the perfectly lighthearted vibe for the subject matter of modern dating struggles. Like, we’re in an unserious age.

The “gay awakening” line has been taken a bit out of context for the sake of discourse, and any time people hate on the song as a whole, it’s usually directed at that line specifically. Admittedly, if there were a bit on this album where I’d say she might’ve gotten possessed by a corny millennial, it would be that one. I still don’t think it’s that bad, though. I find the silly goofy lyricism, mixed with her stunning vocal delivery, along with the track to all convey such a nice all-around ode to Dolly. You couldn’t make me hate this track if you tried.

6. Bed Chem

Favorite Lyric: “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? Like…”

You can’t be mad at a song being ranked in the top 6, we are in the high ranks now. The amount she sings about dick on this album is crazy. This wasn’t love at first listen, although the lyricism went crazy. I feared I wouldn’t be able to fully vibe with this sound. I always loved the delivery of the pre-chorus, but for some reason the instrumental wasn’t agreeing with me. Now I’m able to vibe with it a lot more. I appreciate that this entire song is just Sabrina Carpenter saying the craziest most outlandish shit possible for the entirety of the runtime. Probably the Nonsense of the Short n’ Sweet era. Thank you, Sabrinspeare. The vocal layering on the bridge is everything, as well. Thank you, Sabrandy.

5. Good Graces

Favorite Lyric: “No one’s more amazing at turning loving into hatred.”

I had worried that this would be too reminiscent of very Ariana influenced tracks from her Singular era, and that while I LOVE that era, specifically Singular Act II, it wouldn’t hit as hard on this album and that over time it would grow off me. There’s still time for that, I’ve only had the song for a week, but I actually find this song to be much more reminiscent of 90s girl groups than anything else, rather than derivative of her past work. If you know me, you know that’s everything to me! I’ve had sooo much fun with this track for the past week, largely thanks to the instrumental track and Sabrina’s vocals. It’s not the most lyric forward on the album, but I just think it sounds sooooo fresh while also clearly having influences of nostalgia. A perfect encapsulation of what this album is all about.

4. Lie to Girls

Favorite Lyric: “We love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest.”

By and large, the biggest grower on the album for me so far. I thought it was cute on first listen, but when I really took the time to sit with this song, and really hear what she’s doing. All of the production choices, vocal deliveries, the instrumental of the outro, it all creates this other-worldly impression that takes over me. I think verse 2 and the outro are possibly the best bits on this entire album. I genuinely am obsessed with her lyricism in verse 2, just overall, the entire verse. This hasn’t stagnated on growing up my ranking yet, I think my top 3 needs to LOOK OUT.

I see a lot of people picking on this song, like, bullying the pretty girl once again… I suppose they’ll probably want me to explain myself more. Why I think it’s one of her best songs to date… I struggle articulating it, because I just feel, like… do you not hear her???????????????????????????????? I confess to understanding why it wouldn’t be anyone’s favorite, upon first listen I would have ranked her in my bottom 5, but… it has enraptured me so completely. It isn’t a song anymore, it’s a part of my being. I am literally the girl outside the strip club getting her tarot cards read.

3. Juno

Favorite Lyric: “You make me want to make you fall in love.”

I have to rank a Diablo Cody reference top 3, it’s just my religion. Probably the most Feather adjacent album track, not in sound whatsoever, but in sleeper hit potential. Just nothing but 3 minutes and 43 seconds of pure joy, bliss, serotonin. When she says “OW!” that first time, it fills me with this desire to just get up and DANCE!!! This is the type of track that makes me say she just UNDERSTANDS pop music in a serious way. Everything is so intentional and studied, but not forced. She just bodies it. I would like to request a music video or a live performance.

But, again, it’s mostly the Diablo Cody reference.

2. Sharpest Tool

Favorite Lyric: “Seems like overnight I’m just the bitch you hate now.”

I very quickly awarded this as my favorite song on the album, and I am still very much considering it. People can say whatever they want about Jack Antonoff, but his production here is everything I think he is capable of in the best way. When the vocals go back and forth in the bridge, and then it goes straight into the refrain, and then back to the pre-chorus. It’s all just so satisfying to my ear, and it’s aided by the fact I, personally, find the entire song to be PERFECTLY written. Very cutting and relatable while also being personal to Sabrina herself. Everything about its musicality works together to create one of my favorite songs of the year. This and my #1 just showcase a mastery of the music craft.

1. Coincidence

Favorite Lyric: “She looks kinda like the girl you outgrew, ‘least that’s what you said.”

This Song has everything that appeals to me as a human person. Every time I listen to the album, I wonder if my #1 will change, and then this song comes on and I’m filled with a bliss, happiness, serotonin from the instrumental alone, and then I think about the lyrics and I’m, like… wow. It’s as though Sabrina studied me and gave this to me on a silver platter, specifically.

The track is so light, campfire-y, upbeat and almost nostalgic, while the lyricism is, although also keeping her lighthearted narrative voice, describing such a bad situation that can speak to so many whilst also remaining specific to her own story. She mastered the contrast. The vocal delivery on the entire track is PERFECT, as well. A bitter-sweet pop song for the ages. The lyricism, the way it sounds, the BRIDGE…. Oh, The Bridge. Everything I love about this song is exemplified at full force on the bridge. A perfect bridge. All songs should have a bridge because they will take a great song and make it masterful. This should be studied by other artists to try and replicate her sheer mastery on this entire track.

I don’t think I did the best job explaining why my favorites are my favorites… to me, you just have to HEAR them and it makes perfect sense, but I know others feel differently. Perhaps that just exemplifies how good she is at making music.

IN CONCLUSION… prior to and upon release, people had a lot to say. They wanted to say this was going to be a shameless cash-grab solely to capitalize on Espresso’s success, but when you really look at this as a body of work… you can clearly tell it was never going to be that. It’s clear that Espresso is very much the Exception, not the rule of this album. It’s all the better for that. This is an album that showcases everything Sabrina Carpenter Is as an artist. This is the project that will change her career trajectory in the best way. Very happy to be able to witness the rise of the Sabrina Carpenter era of pop music!

My wish for her next album would just be seeing her collaborate with different people in writing and production, because that tends to bring out the best in her artistic evolution.

not j*ss rating: 8/10, this is given the not j*ss seal of approval.