Earlier this week while ordering at a coffee shop, the barista and I simultaneously hummed along to a pop song blasting through the speakers. The song was “Don’t Smile,” a ballad from Sabrina Carpenter’s wildly successful 2024 album Short n’ Sweet. The song still felt novel and trendy, not a glimmer of its freshness felt lost, as is often common with a track released the previous year. The moment reminded me that Carpenter’s new album, Man’s Best Friend, was set for release that upcoming Friday.
Man’s Best Friend is a good pop album, but feels half-baked compared to her recent work. It is Carpenter’s seventh studio album, and just her second after Short n’ Sweet, (an album that topped the Billboard 200, produced three Billboard top ten hits, and boasted eight Grammy nominations and two wins). In short, a difficult album to follow-up. Perhaps that is what makes Man’s Best Friend feel undercooked in comparison.
It certainly has less full-on bops. One of them is “Manchild,” undoubtedly the best song on the album and the only single. There is also my personal favorite, “When Did You Get Hot?” which is the most lush song on the album, comical, upbeat, and enjoyable from the first listen. The songs “Tears” and “House Tour” are also among the more fun tracks, both evoking the classic flirtatious vibe Carpenter has become known for.
Man’s Best Friend takes listeners through all stages of a breakup. The first two tracks cleverly bemoan male incompetence. Comedy and wit remain Carpenter’s most worthy songwriting attributes. These songs, “Manchild,” and “Tears,” include lyrics such as “I get wet at the thought of you… being a responsible guy” and “Why so sexy if so dumb?/ And how survive the Earth so long?”
Carpenter sings about a partner pulling away on “My Man’s Willpower.” The song chronicles a man falling out of love, avoiding physical and emotional intimacy – “my man on his willpower is something I don’t understand/ He fell in love with self-restraint and now it’s getting out of hand.” Carpenter also documents a couple on the verge of separating on “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” and even realizes her own toxicity on “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry,” a song that showcases the complexity of her voice. “Go Go Juice,” is about drinking post break-up and includes a drunken sing-along.
Man’s Best Friend ends with its weakest track, “Goodbye,” where Carpenter sings farewell to a lover in various languages. Leading up to its release, the majority of the album’s press was related to its salacious cover and name. The Man’s Best Friend’s album cover shows Carpenter on her knees, her hair acting as a tight leash, gripped by a faceless man. In tandem with the album’s name, the insinuation was Carpenter being a man’s bitch.
The album’s controversial cover and album name are misleading. There are sexual innuendos, yes—it is a Sabrina Carpenter project after all—but the album is much more of a lowkey breakup album than it is explicitly raunchy. There is irony present between the persona Carpenter portrays contrasted against the lyrics. She plays the part of a vixen on stage but sings of being “bone dry” on “When Did You Get Hot?” and sexual frustration on “My Man on Willpower.” She wishes abstinence and agoraphobia on an ex in “Never Getting Laid.”
The album sonically calls back to music of the ’70s and ’80s, and includes funk, country, and Swedish pop inspiration. The ’70s aesthetics match Carpenter’s new Dunkin’ Donuts commercial and the visual aesthetic videos paired with the songs on Spotify. Collaborators on the album include Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen, and John Ryan—all creatives who worked on Short ‘n Sweet, but notably, this is the first album where Ryan and Antonoff work together on anything, versus switching off like they have in the past. While there is success in creating an album that is sonically cohesive, the album lacks the top tier charm that Carpenter is fully capable of.
There is an understandable desire to strike while the iron is hot, but Carpenter’s recent success created high expectations that Man’s Best Friend does not meet.
Man’s Best Friend is out now.
Words by Caitlin Doherty for Staged Haze
0 comments on “Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Has Its Moments, But Lacks the “It” Factor That Makes Her a Star”