Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, “Man’s Best Friend,” takes her upbeat, witty, sex-positive energy to a new level. Carpenter first became known during her time on Disney Channel where she had a main role in “Girl Meets World” — a spin-off of “Boy Meets World” from the 90’s. Carpenter released her record “Emails I Can’t Send” in 2022 with a song titled “Nonsense” which was filled with fun, carefree throw away lines about the new man in Carpenter’s life and became a fan favorite. After this, there was an increase of this style on Carpenter’s following album “Short ‘n Sweet” and even more so now on “Man’s best friend.”
With “Manchild” being the start to the album and also the first single, it gives you insight into exactly what to expect on the rest of the record. It gives the perspective of how difficult and frustrating it can be to date immature men and being the only one to take responsibility in a relationship, while still keeping it a bit light hearted with a catchy chorus and production style that makes you want to dance.
“Sugar Talking” experiments with a sound that hasn’t been shown in any of Carpenter’s recent albums. With her vocals and the guitar riff near the end of the song, it shows more of an alt-pop/funk sound that made this track stand out amongst some of the others on this record.
Immediately following this song is “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night.” Another track that was a bit more memorable. This song speaks about how a relationship that Carpenter is in keeps almost coming to an end, but last minute they stay together. Carpenter seems unafraid to share the aspects of this situation which, mixed with its soft pop sound, makes this song feel more raw than some of the others.
“Never Getting Laid Again” incorporated its 70’s style keyboard and lo-fi inspired instruments that brings in another new version of Carpenter music that hasn’t been shown in previous albums.
Creating almost all the songs to be more uptempo and somewhat vague about the specifics within the relationships can make the record as a listening experience feel kind of monotone. I can appreciate that this album does speak a lot to heartbreak, but with it all taking on the style of “Nonsense,” it was missing some of the slower, more emotionally targeted songs she’s had on previous albums that touched on more heavy topics.
Carpenter’s song “Emails I Can’t Send,” from the album with the same title, touches on trauma from her parents’ relationship. “Opposite,” also from the same record, speaks about self esteem issues after her ex starts dating someone else. This is the variety I felt “Man’s Best Friend,” lacked a bit. However, after listening to it a few more times, her vocals, layered harmonies, new incorporation of funk, and a bit of 70’s and 80’s sound, allowed for multiple songs on the album to grow on me even more.
If you’re looking for more of Carpenter’s ballet songs about personal struggles, then some of the tracks might be misses or maybe need to grow on you a bit like with me, but if you’re looking for more of her confidence, witty innuendo filled lines, then this album is perfect.
