2024 has been the year of female album releases. From Taylor Swift to Beyonce, we’ve been surrounded by excellent music all year. In a year with so much noise and news, it’s rare that something breaks through and becomes so defining and uniting. This summer, it was that me, espresso. “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter quickly catapulted into the song of the summer after its Coachella release. It was the catchy earworm that never grew old. Sabrina has been one of my favorite artists for years. Like so many of my generation, I fell in love with her on “Girl Meets World” and it is so cool to see her finally take her place in the spotlight. Short and Sweet was released just over a month ago now, and it lived up to every bit of promise Carpenter had built over the summer.
Sabrina first started going viral for her song “Nonsense” on her last album. Fans seemed to love the not-so-subtle innuendo of the song, especially when she would change up the outro every night on tour. She took that direction and ran with it on this album, with songs like “Bed Chem” and “Juno” leaning fully into this vibe. The album’s introspective moments bring back the relatable song writing that made her earlier works so special to her fans. Songs like “Sharpest Tool” and “Lie to Girls” keep the brutal honesty and allow listeners, especially her teenage and young adult fans, to feel seen in the music. A highlight of the album to me is the song “Slim Pickins,” which leans into a country vibe while griping about dating in this generation. It helps set this tone of confusion, delusional confidence, and crushing loneliness all at once, something that is so defining to so many girls in their twenties. Not all the songs hit the mark 100% individually, but as a whole, the album has such a great story and cohesion.Â
Short and Sweet delivered everywhere it needed to as an album. It moved well with the momentum of the singles while adding in plenty of new perspectives and sounds. To be honest, it’s main flaw is that it is too short. I would love more songs in this world. After months of hype Sabrina delivered everything she promised and I cannot wait to see what she does next.
Short and Sweet gets an 8.5/10 from me.
