While Sabrina Carpenter may not be “Man’s Best Friend,” I would so let her be mine.
On Aug. 29, the pop sensation released her seventh studio album to the begging hands of anyone who has ever had to deal with a “Manchild,” and let me tell you, I was excited.
Much like her last album “Short n’ Sweet,” many of the songs were produced and co-written by Jack Antonoff, who has worked with other artists such as Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and more.
The album starts off with the hit lead single, “Manchild.” The beginning of the song always makes me laugh. To start off the album with her exasperated, but amused, “Oh boy,” truly is great foreshadowing for all the nonsense that men put her through.
Moving along. The next song, and single, is “Tears,” a disco-inspired track that is definitely not talking about the kind of tears that you are thinking of. I probably should’ve mentioned this, but Carpenter loves an innuendo, and she manages to include one in almost every line.
Now, while you might be thinking, “Gee, Ayla, that has to get tired after a while.” And to that I say that you, my friend, are incorrect. This whole album is 12 songs worth of the most comical lines found in pop music in the past decade or so.
“My Man on Willpower,” “Sugar Talking” and “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” give us a look into some of the toxicities that both Carpenter and her partner exhibit in their relationship. These songs take on a slower, more mellow feel, which is a great contrast to songs like “Tears.”
The sixth track, “Nobody’s Son,” brings out some more of Carpenter’s self-deprecating humor, which makes it a personal favorite of mine. Throughout the song, she talks about how she cannot find luck in love and “there’s nobody’s son” left for her to actually find love with. During the song’s bridge, the singer addresses not the boy who hurt her, but his parents, who couldn’t raise him to be a loving partner.
Now, here’s where the writing room went up in flames because of how fire the latter half of the album turned out to be.
As soon as the pop star covered the emotional side of her life, she was ready to give the audience some sexy, high-energy tracks, starting with “When Did You Get Hot?” which talks about the moment when you realize that someone you know suddenly had a glow up.
Carpenter’s comedy reaches a new peak, which continues to grow stronger with each new song. In verse two, the artist sings, “I bet your light rod’s like bigger than Zeus’/Hey, wait, can you lift my car with your hand?/You were an ugly kid, but a sexy man.”
Even while praising a man for his looks, she still has to make sure his ego doesn’t become too inflated. I love it.
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“Go Go Juice” is a catchy, relatable song about drinking juice (wink) to cope with a bad breakup. The best part, in my opinion, is the end when she starts slurring her words – which is a great detail – and makes you feel like you’re talking with your friend after she has had a fun night.
Another song in the lineup that I absolutely love is “House Tour.” This song would’ve been perfect for the “Barbie” movie (2023), especially with the line: “My house is on Pretty Girl Avenue.”
To end the album, Carpenter gives us “Goodbye” — an ABBA-inspired melody that perfectly wraps up this fabulous album.
I love this album. It’s witty and catchy and basically everything that I could ask for from a pop record.
However, this doesn’t mean that it is without faults.
The production is very formulaic, which has often been a critique of Antonoff’s work. Multiple times throughout this album, the music completely cuts out to just have Carpenter’s vocals shine through in the chorus. Normally, I wouldn’t mind this, but it happened far too many times for me to be able to ignore it.
Also, some of the songs are quite forgettable. There is a reason why I didn’t include songs like “Never Getting Laid” and “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” — I couldn’t remember them. Trust me, I listened to this album a lot, and I still have trouble recalling what they sounded like.
Despite those critiques, I still have to recommend this record. It’s short, sweet and easy to listen to. I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Rating: 8/10
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