By Kyra Hudson Staff Writer

Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter released her sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet this past Friday. A departure from her last album, emails i can’t send fwd:, Carpenter is no longer subtle with her risqué lyrics and is unabashed in spotlighting unfortunate past exes and situationships with her witty and vicious one-liners.

In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, she said that, “I thought about some of these relationships, how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had and they affected me the most.” With sultry ‘90’s influences that can be heard in “Bed Chem,” or classic country sounds in “Coincidence” and “Slim Pickins,” Carpenter clearly shows her range when working with different genres along with her skilled lyricism, making Short n’ Sweet arguably one of the most impressive albums released this year. 

Carpenter includes much more straightforward, provocative, and sexy lyrics in comparison to her cheeky yet understated sultry lines in emails i can’t send fwd:. One example is “Bed Chem,” In which she describes her intense attraction to a handsome man. At several moments throughout the song, she uses innuendos or double entendres to play around with her rather candid descriptions of her attraction towards said “love-interest.” “Bed Chem” is also where the listener can hear influences from ‘90’s icons such as the Spice Girls and even Boyz II Men in matching her explicit lyricism with their popular song, “I’ll Make Love To You,” which was released three decades prior to Short n’ Sweet. Carpenter’s dreamy melodies- along with the quintessential ‘90’s machine-generated chime sounds that echo in the background of this song highlight her comprehensive understanding of this genre and her intentional use of these elements to create a sexy love ballad.

With influences like Kasey Musgraves another country-pop icon, the listener can hear a twangy banjo and other acoustic features that are essential to the country genre, which Carpenter masterfully incorporates into songs like “Slim Pickins” and “Coincidence.” In “Slim Pickins” she details the pitiful modern-day dating scene in which she feels hopeless in finding a lover who is actually a decent person.

“Coincidence” talks about the realization that the person she is dating is not over their ex and that every time they seem to be in the same city and place, it’s just a coincidence. In both songs, Carpenter is, again, very playful with her lyrics and pokes fun at both herself and her past lovers with jaunty and bright melodies that feel like both songs could be sung around a campfire. 

Carpenter’s final song on her album, “Don’t Smile,” perfectly encompasses the failed relationship theme that she’s sung about throughout the entire record while also feeling like a bit of a farewell to this era of her life. The seductive, wavy synth, the constant-yet-simple beat of the drum snare and high-hats and her heavenly harmonies singing, “don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over,” make it the ideal closer for her sixth studio album. I rate this a 10/10 album, and would absolutely recommend.