For many, 2024 marked the return of 2000s pop: free and uninhibited. On social networks, fans of this musical genre are saying that “pop stars are back”, and Sabrina Carpenter is proving them right. With her new album Short n’ Sweet, the former Disney Channel actress definitively turns the page on her past as a child actress to prove that she excels in the art of a good earworm.
On her sixth album, the 25-year-old singer talks mainly about love, her ex, and sex. And when she talks about sex, she talks about it! Almost all her songs hide sexual references, but always composed with lightness and humor. In fact, humour is a key component of Sabrina Carpenter’s songwriting, as she likes to play with words and allude to certain rumors about herself.
Musically, this 12-track album explores various facets of pop. On the one hand, strong country influences emerge on tracks such as “Coincidence,” “Please Please Please” and “Slim Pickins,” reminding us at times of a young Dolly Parton. On the other, Old School R&B-inspired sounds can be heard on “Good Graces.” As for “Espresso,” the song from last summer, the presence of synthesizers plunges us into a disco atmosphere reminiscent of 80s classics.
With this album, Sabrina Carpenter demonstrates that a woman can talk openly about sex without being perceived as vulgar. That being sexual doesn’t diminish our relevance, quite the contrary. Short n’ Sweet is a hymn to self-confidence and friendship, but also to the challenges of being a woman in a world where inequality remains, alas, omnipresent.
