Album review: Sabrina Carpenter is self-proclaimed “Man’s Best Friend”

Photo Collage by Easton Clark, Photo Editor

Less than a year after Sabrina Carpenter dropped her sixth studio album “Short n’ Sweet,” the famously profane blonde bombshell surprised the world with a new three-word self-portrait: “Man’s Best Friend.”

Standing roadside with a hitchhiker’s thumb raised, Carpenter is clad in Daisy Dukes and stilettos in the first official teaser for the album. Fans might not have thought much about the scene; this is on par with the branding she’s created, with a strong resemblance to the western-style music video for “Please Please Please ft. Dolly Parton.” 

It was the lack of a caption, the almost-silent static and the cryptic ending — a soft chuckle and the words “oh, boy” — that caught the audience’s attention. 

Carpenter didn’t wait long to deliver a follow-up to the unexplained video clip. The next day, she posted a picture of the lead single’s cover art, captioned “this one’s about you!!” 

If the last album set a precedent for Carpenter’s future music, it was that she would continue to deliver more dance-pop chart toppers with crafty metaphors and sexual innuendos. “Manchild,” with its playfully teasing lyrics backed by Jack Antonoff’s production, did not disappoint on this front.

Riding on the coattails of a Grammy-winning record and a public breakup with Irish actor Barry Keoghan, the pressure was on for Carpenter to solidify her status as an up-and-coming pop sensation. “Man’s Best Friend” does just that, presenting a pop-packaged assortment of love, lust, heartbreak and the R-rated themes that the singer-songwriter is known for. 

Introducing us to the central plot of the album through “Manchild,” Carpenter pokes fun at her own patterns of dating immature men in a country-meets-synth lead single. As the album’s opening act and the only single dropped before its official release, the song lets us know everything we need to know about this story. 

Carpenter was heartbroken — but she lives to tell the tale, and now she’s back in the saddle.

The next track, “Tears,” is, in short, not what it sounds like. Following “Manchild,” this song changes the tone, drifting away from heartbreak right into the crafty workings of Carpenter’s trademark sensual metaphoricity. It feels like late-night disco fever — from the established dance break leading into the bridge, to the supporting vocals featured throughout the track, the song is a perfect pop anthem and spot-on Sabrina.

“My Man on Willpower,” my personal favorite from the album, is the reverse of its predecessor. Carpenter’s lover, once “literally obsessed” with her, has given her the cold shoulder. Here, we get our first glimpse into the downfall of Carpenter’s relationship. With this upbeat, catchy pop song, we see the tragic end to her love story start to unfold. 

Transitioning into a slower beat, we get “Sugar Talking.” After a plea for physical intimacy in the last track, this one specifies that Carpenter doesn’t want your sweet-talk — she wants the real deal. 

“Sugar Talking” leads beautifully into one of the slower tracks of the album: “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night.” In this song, Carpenter opts for a more authentic approach. With little room for interpretation, she tells us exactly what was happening, building up to a fantastic bridge that perfectly encapsulates the push-and-pull of a dying relationship. 

“Nobody’s Son” brings us back to the optimistic tone, but as with many songs on this album, the lyrics don’t exactly match the music. Opening with a spoken message inspired by Carpenter’s ex, we see a rare side of the singer: a self-deprecating, dejected tone as she slowly loses hope in finding love. We can’t even judge her; in fact, haven’t we all been there before?

Backed by a smooth beat and rhythmic clapping, “Never Getting Laid” brings back Carpenter’s witty sarcasm and signature sass. With a slow, melodic outro, the singer wishes her ex a “good whole lot of nothing,” complete with a life of abstinence. It’s funny, unapologetic and it solidifies that Carpenter is just as bitter and petty as the rest of us.

The next two tracks show a different side of heartbreak: “When Did You Get Hot?” represents the return of lust after Carpenter is “so long untouched.” A fun and sexy track, the “Espresso” and “Nonsense” singer returns with more sultry soliloquies. 

Adversely, “Go Go Juice” represents another side of post-breakup healing. Disguised by a peppy beat and a fun title, the lyrics of this song are possibly the most devastating on the album. She reveals tendencies to drink her sorrows away and dial exes, cheerfully singing the tragic line, “a girl who knows her liquor is a girl who’s been dumped.” 

“Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” is Carpenter laying her cards on the table, exposing us to her own downfalls in love. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard these insecurities from the singer; many of the lyrics parallel “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder” from the deluxe version of “Short n’ Sweet.” 

Then, with the turn of a key in a door, we are led into “House Tour.” The entire song is exactly what fans were expecting from the album — nearly every line is a figure of speech, even though the singer explicitly claims that “none of this is a metaphor,” followed by “I just want you to come inside.” 

The closing track, appropriately titled “Goodbye,” represents the end of the cycle. After a record full of ups and downs, breaking up and making up and all of the sexual innuendos in between, Carpenter officially cuts off the album’s subject. 

Cleverly including the line “on the flip side, cheerio” in a U.K. accent, the popstar is doubling down on what she announced at the very beginning of this album’s life when she introduced “Manchild”: this one’s about you, Barry. 

Leaving us with the words “goodbye, get home safe,” Carpenter closes the book on this specific story. After stumbling into love and begging her partner “don’t embarrass me” in “Please Please Please” last year, she takes fans on a tumultuous journey of heartache and disappointment. 

She warns us with the opening line, “oh, boy,” that this one was going to be a doozy. And while the record is definitely a rollercoaster of emotions, its vulnerability and relatability add to it in a way that supersedes “Short n’ Sweet,” in my opinion. 

Just as much as Carpenter is authentically “Short n’ Sweet,” she is equally honest about her role as “Man’s Best Friend.” I can’t wait to see what title she takes on next, but in the meantime, I’ll continue listening to this one on repeat.