Rating: 8/10

Track Amount: 12

Running Time: 38 minutes and 24 seconds

Genre: Pop

Personnel: Sabrina Carpenter

Producer: Jack Antonoff, Sabrina Carpenter, John Ryan

Record Label: Island Records

Recording Location: Electric Lady Studios (New York) and Tamarind Recording Studios (Los Angeles)

Art Direction: Bryce Anderson

Best Tracks: Manchild, Tears, When Did You Get Hot?

Quick Verdict: The sound of 2025 for better or worse

In today’s postmodern world of Pop Music, it seems that the likes of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have some big competition on their hands with Sabrina Carpenter. This is an interesting release from the singer, which some ridiculed for its album art and lyrics (along with the interesting album title). No matter. The album charted at #1 on album lists in many countries across the world, and Sabrina Carpenter was lifted up in the popularity stakes even more so than before. Yes, this is contemporary Pop Music, but given that Sabrina Carpenter’s previous album, Short n’ Sweet (2024), was both consistent musically and massively successful, Sabrina Carpenter wasted no time in following it up with this album. This album mostly got positive reviews, but we will see if it all adds up to a great Pop Music release. Let’s dive in and take a listen to this recent release; hopefully, it will be a good one.

1. Manchild is the main single from this album. It begins with Sabrina Carpenter laughing and then saying, “Oh, boy!” before launching into a piece of music that sounds like a 1980s Pop tune. As if Synth Pop doesn’t get enough airplay as is. Still, this is an out-there and raunchy tune that sounds like Sabrina Carpenter needs to seriously get it on. Nonetheless, this rather cheesy tune does sound good, but not great. It is passable as a piece of music, and includes some samples of electric guitars, but this is not exactly something that will be memorable in 5-10 years. It’s good, but unfortunately, it’s not what legends in music are made of. All in all, this is a good listen with some simple, basic and polished sounds throughout. Seriously, she needs a good boyfriend at this stage. All in all, a good listen, but there has been better in recent times. Put this on a Spotify playlist for a laugh. It fades out nicely and gets more interesting as it goes on.

2. Tears begins with strings and other polished instrumentation. Sabrina Carpenter launches into a good song with piano and a pseudo-Disco Music vibe. This is not an emotional negative song at all. Instead, it sounds like the sort of contemporary music that is all over the radio today. Sabrina Carpenter is obviously making music for young men who lust after her. Even so, this music serves a purpose in 2025. A winner of a song that has some sexual appeal throughout. This is better than some of the other music that the likes of other contemporary artists, e.g. Justin Bieber, are making at this stage. Fine to listen to, all the same. This music does have tongue-in-cheek appeal. Good tune.

3. My Man On Willpower begins with spacey sounds that are multitracked and are in different channels, just before Sabrina Carpenter launches into action. This is a good song about Sabrina Carpenter’s desire to be in love and lust with another guy. Even though she is single at the time of writing, this sounds like a future love letter to her husband-to-be. This sounds detailed, dramatic and energetic throughout. This is very much the sound of 2025, and Sabrina Carpenter pulls off a rather adult, cheeky and dirty album thus far. Again, this is very good, even if it is not great. It has a 21st-century take on digital Pop Music of the 1980s, which has been done to death by this point. Still, this is a good song. This is an adult album for an adult mindset, so it is not a great idea to play it to your kids, if you have them. Nice to hear anyway.

4. Sugar Talking is a weird name for a Pop song. It sounds nice and dreamy, however, and launches into a pseudo-Avril Lavigne sort of tune, minus the guitars. It sounds glossy and bright, and is another good contemporary music song. This music is magical and special throughout, which has a nice touch to it all. Although this album is not perfect (no album is), this music is fairly consistent throughout. A great listen throughout, which has spice, sugar and delight. Sabrina Carpenter is a good singer for this here today, gone tomorrow Pop Music. The sampled guitar solo is awful, but the rest of the song is decent. A flashy, solid and interesting tune which is a continuation of the “celebrity with a laptop” theme that is so ever-present in music today.

5. We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night begins with some nicely strummed acoustic guitars and has pleasant singing from Sabrina Carpenter. This is a gorgeously dramatic song about the worst sort of scenario in a relationship. It sounds so surreal and interesting for a melodramatic listening experience. With so many people in this world in complicated and interesting love lives today, Sabrina Carpenter relates to this fact with this song. A pleasant and listenable tune designed to be enjoyed after a serious argument with your partner, this is a good listen. Again, the guitar solo section sounds absolutely like garbage, but even so, this does sound appealing overall. A good song about making amends in love. Needless to say, Sabrina Carpenter sings very well, despite autotune being present heavily on this tune, however. The album sounds like a 21st-century snapshot of the female perspective in life. Good, all the same.

6. Nobody’s Son sounds awful from the start. It has the cheesiest of electronic sounds and layered vocals as well. This is a song continuing the themes from the previous track, with some interesting sounds and singing. By this point, it is clear that this album is not as strong as the previous Sabrina Carpenter offering. It sounds like the mix-up of emotional delivery and sonic textures does not suit her so much this time around, as does the rather awkward look back to 1980s music. Still, this is better than some other contemporary artists out there today. A very different listen overall and lyrically unpleasant. Not a great representation of the best Pop Music today. The string section throughout is a nice touch, though.

7. Never Getting Laid sounds more like digital lush Disco Music with some tripped out and surreal sounds. If you live alone and don’t have a lover, this song is for you. Sabrina Carpenter sings sweetly about the fact that she is not getting any from a love interest. Sometimes it is best to not deal with certain people in a love/sex relationship, and it sounds like Sabrina Carpenter is lusting for some. Very adult, but fairly understandably. Sabrina Carpenter remains hopeful all the same, and she is very promiscuous on this song. This is not an album for kids, so make sure you have a good pair of headphones ready. The lush instrumentation and singing do sound nice, all the same. Not bad. It has an extended outro with Sabrina Carpenter wishing the man badly with whom she wanted to do it with.

8. When Did You Get Hot? begins with some dark basslines and beats, launching into a surreal and interesting tune about lusting after a guy she knows. Interesting and detailed about her own lustful sexual adventures, this is a good listen about a guy who hit the gym and changed his appearance. Simple, raw and sexual throughout. This is one of the highlights of this album, and Sabrina Carpenter is unafraid to put her sexual desires and sexuality into this album. A short, sweet and interesting tune. The outro is nicely treated and sounds extremely interesting.

9. Go Go Juice begins with lush acoustic guitars and more sexually inspired lyrics by Sabrina Carpenter. This is a strange listen about desiring a man of her fancy and being tipsy from drinking in the process. A good song that, although it isn’t a highlight of this album, is still decent enough to listen to. This music is simple and pleasant listening with sweet singing and explicit lyrics. It is obvious that Sabrina Carpenter is the female David Lee Roth of the 21st century. A fiddle solo adds some flavour to this song. A good listen overall. A melody change with layered vocal harmonies and other interesting sounds follows, and this would sound great under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A very lovely listen throughout about drinking booze and wanting to get it on.

10. Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry begins with some more strummed acoustic guitars, and quite frankly, does not sound that good. It is a moody and emotional song that is unpleasant-sounding. Sabrina Carpenter sings about a low in her love life, and she sounds moody and distressed on this song. This is a very weak song on this album, which you may desire to skip ahead through. A very sad listen, but the music sounds rather off, as does the emotional delivery of this tune. Still, this is not excruciating to listen to, just not the best. If you need to cry your eyes out at some point to this album, this might be the song for you. This probably needed a rethink musically, in retrospect. It is interesting, with some multitracked instrumentation that sounds quite good. An unapologetic listen by Sabrina Carpenter. The pseudo-Country Music instrumentation at the end is odd.

11. House Tour begins with the sound of a car being parked, and launches into a pseudo-1980s dance song. This isn’t that good, once again. Sabrina Carpenter may be slipping at this point. She still makes good music, but nothing absolutely phenomenal at this point in the album. A good listen, but far and away from something totally amazing. Sabrina Carpenter sounds particularly dirty on this song, as she gives you a brief glimpse of her house and what she wants to do with any good-looking man around her age at this point. Good, but definitely musically not great. Still, this song is not outright bad, but the album runs out of consistency towards the end. Nice to listen to, all the same. The conclusion is hilarious, though.

12. Goodbye is the final track on this album, of course. It has some sweet singing and piano to match a song about breaking up with a lover. This sounds pretty, melodramatic and poppy for what it is. She says goodbye to a lover whom she is ditching for good. This music is a good listen, especially if you are going through a major breakup. This is a typical Pop song that has some vicious lyrics and pleasant production that makes it work. All the same, this is an interesting listen. It finishes a good album, which has its ups and downs, on a fairly memorable note. This is a lush ballad with a load of the sort of background music that The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) would have inspired. Nonetheless, if you are a young lady who needs to eliminate a partner with a song, this is it. Pleasantly interesting to hear.

This album isn’t perfect overall. However, it is the best representation of where Pop Music is in 2025. In a way, this is still an essential listening experience if you actually need to hear exactly what is going on today in that genre. Having said that, this is not as good as Short n’ Sweet (2024). Still, Sabrina Carpenter is a great pin-up artist for the horny young lady next door. Should you listen to this album? It is definitely worth a try if you want to hear what young people are digging in 2025, but if you love Rock and Metal, the answer is a clear no.