Sabrina Carpenter has been the talk of the internet for over a year. Since the release of her August 2024 album, “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter has been making headlines. Her cheeky lyrics, which often reverse gender stereotypes, calling out men for their behaviors, resonate with all kinds of listeners. Aug. 29, just three days after the one-year anniversary of “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter released “Man’s Best Friend.” The album consists of 12 tracks, spanning 38 minutes, making it easily digestible in one sitting.
The featured single on the album, “Manchild,” released in June 2025, was an instant hit. Past singles of Carpenter’s include “Please Please Please” and “Espresso,” these singles became an internet sensation, trending on TikTok in a matter of hours. The track is the perfect opening to the album with its upbeat, retro vibes and its relatively demoralizing lyrics directed towards a man in Carpenter’s life.
This vibe continues throughout the album.
Another pattern in Carpenter’s music is the comfort level with her own sexuality, which is a refreshing viewpoint in female-driven music. She’s been open about this since the release of “Short n’ Sweet” and has received criticism, but clearly it didn’t faze her. This album is just as innuendo-heavy as her heavily criticized “Juno.”
Each song of the album plays well after the other, keeping the same vibe throughout. Each song sounds similar yet familiar, without being derivative of the others.
Even songs that take a slower, less quick-tempoed approach, like “Sugar Talking” and “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” pair well with the quick-tempoed tracks like “Tears” and “House Tour.”
As the album progresses, the tempo slows, which could be seen as a shift in focus to a more seductive tone rather than a dance tone. That is, until the second-to-last song of the “House Tour,” which once again gives a more lively-style tone.
The final song of the album, aptly titled “Goodbye,” is yet another slower song, though the tone isn’t necessarily seductive. It gives ABBA vibes in all the best ways, nailed home with the instrumentals down to the “ah-ah’s” used.
Overall, the album is giving the retro vibes that listeners seem to be loving these days. There’s a good balance of dance-toned beats as well as the seductive tones that Carpenter is becoming more and more known for.
