The 26-year-old Grammy Award winner, Sabrina Carpenter dropped her newest album “Man’s Best Friend” on August 19, where she sings about romance, intimacy, and heartbreak. This 12-track pop album is a follow up to her 2024 hit album, “Short n’ Sweet,” but does it live up to the hype?
“Manchild,” the album’s first track, was the lead single. With its energetic country inspired beat, it immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. The song is about a comically pathetic ex-boyfriend, filled with clever insults over a cheerful melody. The pre-chorus, “Stupid, or is it slow? Maybe it’s useless, but there’s a cuter word for it, I know,” went viral online when the song was first released in June, representing her attempt to bring words to her situation. Almost like she’s thinking aloud. The second verse breaks the rules of the standard pop song, the melody is completely different from the first. The lyrics take a turn at the bridge, “Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get, and I like my men all incompetent, and I swear they choose me, I’m not choosing them,” where Carpenter admits that she may be partially responsible, in attracting this childish type of man.
The second track, “Tears,” is filled to the brim with irony. In the second verse she sings “A little respect for women can get you very, very far. Remembering how to use your phone gets me oh so, oh so hot. Considering I have feelings, I’m like, ‘Why are my clothes still on?” At face value these lyrics praise the act of a man being able to do basic things, but they’re actually making fun of men who give the bare minimum in a relationship, the song’s excessively sexual lyrics representing how some men expect women to treat them just for having basic manners. This track has caused a bit of a controversy online, from those believing the song’s lyrics demean women. In an interview with NPR discussing the song, Carpenter said, “It starts to get pathetic almost. We’re definitely getting to a point where we’re just asking for the bare minimum…” With this song’s disco-pop melody and ironic lyrics, it makes for one of the catchiest tracks on the album.
The fourth track, “Sugar Talking,” has one of the slowest-paced melodies out of the whole album. The phrase sugar talking refers to someone saying overly sweet, insincere things in a relationship. Carpenter sings about being tired of hollow words being constantly thrown around, demanding real actions instead of empty promises. It has similar themes to “Tears,” where in both tracks she sings about men in relationships not treating women with respect. In the chorus, she sings, “Put your loving where your mouth is. Your sugar talking isn’t working tonight,” essentially calling out performative love, or love and affection displayed for validation rather than a genuine connection.
The album’s seventh track, “Never Getting Laid,” Carpenter sings about the aftermath of a breakup over a dreamy, synthwave melody. She passive aggressively wishes her ex a happy life, while hoping he never dates anyone else again. The first verse, “We were so happy, why not mix it up? I’m so at peace, yeah, I can’t drink enough. No way to know just who you’re thinkin’ of. I just wish you didn’t have a mind,” tells the story of a relationship that soured unexpectedly. In the chorus, she wishes her ex sunny days from behind his window pane and a forever of never getting laid. The song’s final verse, “At the end of the rainbow, I hope you find a good whole lot of nothing. ‘Cause you’re still inside and abstinence is just a state of mind,” which feels like the epilogue of her story. “Never Getting Laid” combines emotional honesty and spitefulness, making it one of the more memorable songs on the album.
While the rest of the album is mostly lighthearted, the eighth track, “Go Go Juice,” touches on drinking alcohol to cope with a messy breakup. In this upbeat country influenced track, she sings about drunk-calling boys in her contacts list. The chorus, “I’m just drinking to call someone. Ain’t nobody’s safe when I’m a little bit drunk. Could be John or Larry, gosh, who’s to say?” She sings about being open to anyone. The song takes a turn at the second verse, where she sings “Ring, ring, ring, yeah, it’s super important (How many shots in an ounce?) I might have double vision, but that is irrelevant right now (Answer me, baby, um, are you in town?) I miss you and I think about you every minute,” where she sings about a more depressing side of her situation. Overall, it’s a pretty upbeat song, despite the light touches of heartbreak it still makes for a fun listen.
As a whole, “Man’s Best Friend” is a catchy album with songs sure to get stuck in your head. While it might not be for everyone, in Carpenter’s own words, “The album is not for any pearl clutchers,” she said in a preview released a day before the album. If “Short n’ Sweet” was her breakout album, “Man’s Best Friend” is proof she’ll continue to stay relevant.
