Sabrina Carpenter – "Short N' Sweet" (8/26)

[Dammn Baby]

She put crack in Juno. Can’t stop listening.

Also, Sharpest Tool is underrated. The production is amazing. So well written.

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

No honey she put Fentanyl in Good Graces!.im standing on a street corner zombie like 🤧 🤧

[Koochie]

"Dumb & Poetic" and "Slim Pickins" are such a visceral one-two punch and, Low Key ... so me. "You'd make a great wife" made me laugh out loud. Throw out "Lie to Girls" (worst track) and the trip from "Espresso" to "Don't Smile" would be a hell of a ride. 

The writing on this is simultaneously so unserious and downright raw. It's clever, it's irreverent, it's real. Her random spoken word commentary, like a YouTube personality reviewing her own album, makes it abundantly clear that she's self-aware, but her candid delivery belies that there's actual depth in some of her lyrics. Short n' Sweet matches the energy of that one sorority girl everyone knows: the one that's both the most thoughtful person you've ever met and in dire need of court-ordered anger management at once.

The production is equally impressive. The album strikes a perfect balance between country and pop - not a revolutionary concept, but its execution is damn near perfect. In that way, it reminds me of Blackout, another album that married two genres that were already trending together in a way its predecessors hadn't. That's a bold comparison and I won't pretend Short n' Sweet will be as influential, or is even as good; but among several other albums that have been there, done that, it has a very clear vision and holds its own. More than that, the album gives itself permission to be whatever it needs to. It’s greater than the sum of its parts, but it isn't so homogenous that any one of them can't stand alone. To accomplish that has been difficult for many of this generation’s artists. It's refreshing to hear someone actually pull it off. 

"brat Summer" is over. It's time for "Short n' Sweet Fall."

[imbuemyblue]

I literally cannot stop listening. The effortlessness with which she can lay claim to the mantle of pop confectionary like 'Teenage Dream' and '1989' and in the next song give full confessional sad Taylor coded sad girlie is just mind blowing. All the while, she appears completely natural and herself.

Honestly, every track is great, but I am finding 'Sharpest Tool' a bit underrated, as well as 'Lie To Girls', but could be that people just want to have a little more fun before summer is over.

Did I mention the bridges? The lyrics 'I'm so f*cking horny' on a bridge somehow elevated a song to new heights and that is not something I thought was possible.

[Koochie]

"Sharpest Tool" is insanely good. I kind of forgot about it on my first listen, but after someone said it was their only skip I went back and listened again. Easily in the top three of the album for me.

[schnetzka]

My current ranking (favorite to least favorite) would be:

1. "Juno"
2. "Espresso"
3. "Taste"
4. "Please Please Please"
5. "Good Graces"
6. "Dumb & Poetic"
7. "Slim Pickens"
8. "Coincidence"
9. "Sharpest Tool"
10. "Lie to Girls"
11. "Bed Chem" (purely based on the title lol)
12. "Don't Smile"

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

1: Good Graces
2: Bed Chem
3: Espresso
4: Please Please Please
5: Taste
6: Juno
7: Dumb & Poetic
8: Coincidence
9: Don't Smile
10: Slim Pickens
11: Sharpest tool
12: Lie To Girls

[👑 Eloquent ™]

1.) "Espresso"
2.) "Bed Chem"
3.) "Good Graces"
4.) "Please Please Please"
5.) "Taste"
6.) "Sharpest Tool"
7.) "Dumb and Poetic"
8.) "Juno"
9.) "Don't Smile"
10.) "Lie To Girls"
11.) "Slim Pickens"
12.) "Coincidence"

With not a single song I don't like or enjoy. The top 6 are STELLAR. The next 3 great. And the last 3 good! "Bed Chem" and "Good Graces" feel like easy #1s. "Juno" would be the next easiest hit after those two.

I hope it goes:

1.) "Espresso"
2.) "Please Please Please"
3.) "Taste"
4.) "Good Graces" (or "Bed Chem")
5.) "Bed Chem" (or "Good Graces")

[Acid Eyes]

1.) "Espresso"
2.) "Bed Chem"
3.) "Juno"
4.) "Taste"
5.) "Good Graces"
6.) "Sharpest Tool"
7.) "Dumb and Poetic"
8.) "Please Please Please"
9.) "Coincidence"
10.) "Don't Smile"
11.) "Lie to Girls"
12.) "Slim Pickens"

Single 1: Espresso
Single 2: Please x3
Single 3: Taste
Single 4: Bed Chem
Single 5: Juno

[crdubb17]

Enjoyed the record, but the potential singles are pure ear candy. I’m torn between what the 4th single should be. Good Graces is an instant bop and it’s stuck in my head even though it’s a bit basic. Bed Chem is different and fresh. Juno reminds me of Hummingbird Heartbeat in a refreshing way. Don’t Smile could dominate UAC and cross over easily with her impact. We haven’t seen this kind of smashing in a long while.

Also, has anybody made an alternate playlist they don’t mind sharing? I don’t love the slower songs enough to know where they should fit, but I know Espresso needs to be earlier in the track listing.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

"Good Graces" gives me that Ghost Town DJ's "My Boo" summer fun vibe! I feel like "Bed Chem" would feel more fall comparatively, but both would smash regardless so I'm down for either up next! But it better be one of the two!

[crdubb17]

Sept 1, 2024 17:52:48 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

"Good Graces" gives me that Ghost Town DJ's "My Boo" summer fun vibe! I feel like "Bed Chem" would feel more fall comparatively, but both would smash regardless so I'm down for either up next! But it better be one of the two!

Yeah I like how fun the songs are (Bed Chem has that break down that reminds me of Computer Love). I wouldn’t mind either at all.

[andrebra]

I think a Don’t Smile remix ft. SZA could be a monster crossover hit in the winter

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Sept 1, 2024 23:08:58 GMT -5 andrebra said:

I think a Don’t Smile remix ft. SZA could be a monster crossover hit in the winter

I actually really love the smooth groove of "Don't Smile" and could totally hear SZA doing something special with her on that one!

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

No SZA is a better fit for other songs but they would sound great together

For Don't Smile she should get James Blake and make a call and response track! I can hear it now in my head

[Hefty Hanna]

Sept 2, 2024 0:01:26 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

No SZA is a better fit for other songs but they would sound great together

For Don't Smile she should get James Blake and make a call and response track! I can hear it now in my head

The taste of this idea.

[adamalterlago]

i was not checking or expected such pop excellence with this album. Love being surprised. What a good year for pop music in general.

[Koochie]

My first thought with “Don’t Smile” was Washed Out but I’m starting to see the James Blake vision. Not talking about collabing, just what I heard in the song. She needs to pick up some no-name indie bitch. 

Idk how y’all have digested this enough to rank it. I listened again today and honestly my thoughts changed, but if I had to go with a top 3:

1. “Espresso” (SOTY material)
2. “Slim Pickins” (I feel seen)
3. “Sharpest Tool” (I feel seen, but now it’s awkward)

“Dumb & Poetic” will absolutely end up near the top though. Then there’s “Don’t Smile,” “Coincidence”…it’s so consistent that I’d spend 3 hours trying to justify any given ranking, then immediately regret it. Hell, I’m not even that confident about whether or not “Slim Pickins” or “Sharpest Tool” are in the right order.

The only song that still isn’t clicking is “Lie to Girls,” but that’s not to say I can’t appreciate it the more I listen to it. I’m confident that’s still the “worst” song for me, but I’m not going to sit here and pretend it isn’t objectively good - it’s just not for me. Not even lyrically or sonically, I just don’t feel as drawn to the melody as the other songs. It’s not even that I dislike it, I’m just not going out of my way to listen to it.

I’m…kind of obsessed with her now? Let me pre-order a stan card for when she decides to drop her next album and wait for the single to drop in case I need to cancel.

[nas]

I know absolutely nothing about Sabrina Carpenter and wasn’t taken in by Espresso but listened to this out of curiosity and I’m obsessed. This really reminds me of some of the iconic pure classic pop albums (Teenage Dream is a good reference point). Some can say some of the material is generic, but when it’s this well crafted, I consider that to mean classic, not derivative. There are obviously other influences, especially country and some punk, but it’s just a feel good pop record. The quality of the production is immaculate and the personality of it, especially the vocal delivery, is top notch. I’ve become a fan.

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

Sabrina fan club growing by the day. You know she did that and put her foot intit when not one negative response to her iconic album. Although this is Pulse and it's sure to come!

[Koochie]

Comparing this to Teenage Dream might be short-sighted. I don't think that album aged well, but crafting anything "timeless" has always been an issue for Dr. Luke. His work has always been novel, like fast-fashion pop. Teenage Dream is no exception, not that that's inherently bad. Short n' Sweet, comparatively, I see having more staying power. Is it destined to be written in the annals of pop as course-correcting a genre in dire need? Unless you're guilty of stumbling out of frat parties and not even taking a class, or a straight man down so bad you'd suck your fat homie's tit, then no; but it's not chasing trends or pretending to set them. It just is.

Maybe I'm being pedantic though. I know the point being made is that the album is damn good, and yeah, it is. But I'm not sold on the idea that it will be one of many "classics" that came and went yet.

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

Having listened to Feathers she was always dope!! I must have blocked her out and assumed because posters like Normi were shoving her up my ass that she was just another Norwegian Blonde thin voiced singer. But the joke was on me!

[Koochie]

Sept 2, 2024 21:07:10 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

Having listened to Feathers she was always dope!! 

You lying two days ago in my DMs saying it was a skip

Leigh as my witness

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

Sept 2, 2024 22:19:34 GMT -5 Koochie said:

Sept 2, 2024 21:07:10 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

Having listened to Feathers she was always dope!! 

You lying two days ago in my DMs saying it was a skip

Leigh as my witness

I said heard that one and I ignored it. Meaning I ignored it back in the day but heard it yesterday.. sorry you don't speak Coco 🗣️

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

I put you on to Sabrina and now you're using her against me ashy?!

[Koochie]

Sept 2, 2024 22:24:47 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

I put you on to Sabrina and now you're using her against me ashy?!

I'm white

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

Sept 2, 2024 22:35:41 GMT -5 Koochie said:

Sept 2, 2024 22:24:47 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

I put you on to Sabrina and now you're using her against me ashy?!

I'm white

We know chalky

[Koochie]

Sept 2, 2024 22:39:53 GMT -5 Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint said:

Sept 2, 2024 22:35:41 GMT -5 Koochie said:

I'm white

We know chalky

ok but this time *** ** ** ***** when you say it 😍

[shakemaki]

Sept 2, 2024 13:23:32 GMT -5 Koochie said:

Comparing this to Teenage Dream might be short-sighted. I don't think that album aged well, but crafting anything "timeless" has always been an issue for Dr. Luke. His work has always been novel, like fast-fashion pop. Teenage Dream is no exception, not that that's inherently bad. Short n' Sweet, comparatively, I see having more staying power. Is it destined to be written in the annals of pop as course-correcting a genre in dire need? Unless you're guilty of stumbling out of frat parties and not even taking a class, or a straight man down so bad you'd suck your fat homie's tit, then no; but it's not chasing trends or pretending to set them. It just is.

Maybe I'm being pedantic though. I know the point being made is that the album is damn good, and yeah, it is. But I'm not sold on the idea that it will be one of many "classics" that came and went yet.

Yeah, this is basically a perfect pop album when it comes to polished mainstream hits for today, very much not dissimilar to TD for its day (though that one always had a few absolutely abhorrent tracks like Peacock and Not Like The Movies that SNS is thankfully free of). Discussing how it ages next to TD is pretty much pointless though when TD is 14 years old and this is 14 days.

On an aside, I think some of TD aged fantastically. The title track , TOTGA, and Hummingbird Heartbeat in particular still sound quite fresh and I was bopping along recently.

[Enigma.]

I am not even a Katy stan but.... let's do that comparison when Short n' Sweet has spawned at least 5 top ten hits on Hot 100. I can see Bed Chem becoming one at least if they play their cards right.