Man's Best Friend; More Of The Same?

Joey Gilbertson
3 hours ago
6 min read

"Man's Best Friend" by Sabrina Carpenter

>> Introduction <<

In the last year, everyone has had their eyes on Sabrina Carpenter. Ever since she released her hit-single "Espresso" in the spring of last year, she's seen an unexpected surge in popularity. Not to mention that 2024 was a very competitive year in music, especially in the pop genre. For Sabrina to have made such an impact at such a competitive time was really impressive. Her last album, "Short n' Sweet", was a very successful record, selling around 4 million copies as of right now. Needless to say, it made a large impact on pop culture as whole. It is also home to the 4 hit singles "Espresso", "Please Please Please", "Taste", and "Bed Chem". When was the last time a single pop album was able to capture so much attention? Not to mention all of the other songs from this album (and its deluxe edition) that had gone viral online. Sabrina was really cemented as a new main pop-girl, and many were excited to see what she would do next. When she announced her latest album "Man's Best Friend" in June, I was honestly shocked to see that she would be releasing another album only one year after "Short n' Sweet". She also implied it would be the successor/sister to that album. It left people with one question- could she really do it for a second time?

Sabrina Carpenter for "Man's Best Friend"

Tracklist:

Manchild
Tears
My Man on Willpower
Sugar Talking
We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night
Nobody's Son
Never Getting Laid
When Did You Get Hot?
Go Go Juice
Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry
House Tour
Goodbye

>> Oh, Boy <<

What better place to start than the beginning? "Manchild" was the lead single for this album and is also track one on the album. I remember feeling a little weird toward this song when it first came out. I was starting to feel some distain towards Sabrina's tongue-and-cheek innuendos and attitude. The part that I had a particular issue with was the pre-chorus. I don't know why, but the chanting seemed too on the nose and predictable. "Stupid! Maybe it's- useless! Or is it- slow? But there's a cuter word for it, I know..", it just felt clunky to me at first. I don't know why or how, but this song randomly clicked one day. It's weird, because I still feel like this particular part of the song is out of place, and yet it's now one of my favorite moments in the song. It just feels good to scream it with a group of friends. I also enjoyed the production style of this song. You'd think that 80's pop and country wouldn't work well together, but here it's done in a way that feels fresh and interesting. Despite having some competition, this song still stands as my favorite track from this album.

>> Lacking in Inspiration? <<

Honestly, listening to this album for the first time worried me. I didn't really connect with any of the songs in a big way like I did with "Short n' Sweet". I think the main reason for that is the tracklisting. Most of the highlights on this album are near the latter-half of the tracklist, and they put a ton of ballads and low-energy pop songs right in the middle. This meant I had an already negative perception of this project before even getting to the good stuff, which made me disregard those good songs on my first listen. Songs like "We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night", "Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry", and "Sugar Talking" make it hard to enjoy the album as a whole. That's not to say that these songs are terrible, but a lot of these ballads are lacking the sufficient writing to make them worth listening to on their own. Despite having that honest, diaristic writing style, these songs still feel flat because there is nothing particularly insightful or interesting about them. Also, the production usually fails to carry the weight of the subpar writing, with only one exception. I think "Never Getting Laid" has the same issue of being pretty bland in the writing department, but it actually does a good job at exemplifying the classic New York 80's-vibe that Sabrina was going for, which gives it a purpose. It's unfortunate, because the topics she's singing about could actually offer a very unique perspective that we don't get to hear often. "Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry" is a good example of this. While the writing isn't anything special, the actual conceit of the song has a lot of potential. While it's disappointing to see, this is unfortunately just the way it is with some of these track.

>> The Highlights <<

Despite all of the negative-talk I just did, there is actually a lot of good to be found on this album. She's usually at her best when she's doing her usual funny innuendos and being silly. Examples of this are "House Tour", "When Did You Get Hot?", and "Go Go Juice". Each of these songs are unique and have different things going for them. "House Tour" in particular is one of my favorites from the whole album, because it's all just one big metaphor that keeps building more and more as the song continues. Not only is it kind of funny, but it's done in way that isn't common in other pop songs. These specific songs truly save this album from being yet another album filled with uninspired ballads and mediocre pop songs. While there isn't much to comment about these songs, it's important to keep in mind that a good pop song doesn't need to be super deep or complex. There are some other songs on this album that show promise too. I actually like the concept behind both "My Man On Willpower" and "Nobody's Son", but they could have been executed a bit better. For "My Man On Willpower", the problem lies in the production. I really dislike the repetitive strumming guitar in the verses, it makes the tone of the song feel happy, almost like it's a jingle for a kids TV show. This contrast in tone makes it kind of hard for me to listen to the song, but I actually like the chorus so much that I am usually willing to see it through. This is yet another example of an issue that could have been squashed if this album was simply given more time.

Sabrina Carpenter's performance at the 2025 VMA's

>> Final Thoughts <<

While "Man's Best Friend" failed to captivate me in the same way that "Short n' Sweet" did, I still wouldn't say that this album was a failure or that it shouldn't have been released. Do I think it's half-baked, sure. The shallow writing on some of these songs is proof of that. And yeah, it could have probably been trimmed down to be a really good EP. But Sabrina is proving once again that no one can make a funny pop hit like she can. While this album is already proving to be less impactful than her last, I don't think that is indicative of Sabrina and her talents. There are some songs on here that have just as much potential as songs from "Short n' Sweet" did. While she might not have been able to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time, I think she made a good attempt at the very least.

"Man's Best Friend" by Sabrina Carpenter

Song Ratings:

(5/10 being average)

Manchild: 9/10
Tears: 5/10
My Man on Willpower: 7/10
Sugar Talking: 5/10
We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night: 4/10
Nobody's Son: 6/10
Never Getting Laid: 5/10
When Did You Get Hot?: 7/10
Go Go Juice: 8/10
Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry: 4/10
House Tour: 9/10
Goodbye: 6/10

Overall Rating: 6/10

TLDR; "Man's Best Friend" is an obvious attempt by Sabrina Carpenter to recapture the magic of her previous album "Short n' Sweet". While it didn't succeed in it's goal due to moments of uninspired production and boring songwriting, it was still able to achieve the same charm and wit that was at the forefront of her previous album. Songs like "Manchild" and "House Tour" do a good job at highlighting Sabrina's ability to make a unique pop song that anyone can get behind. On the other side of the coin, ballads such as "We Almost Broke Up Again" don't have much to offer in terms of unique songwriting or production. Despite that, some songs provide a different perspective on love and could of had potential to be even better if they were given more time to marinate, such as "My Man On Willpower" or "Nobody's Son". Despite it's flaws, "Man's Best Friend" makes a decent attempt at trying to recapture the magic of it's predecessor.

Earworm ~-~-~o

Thanks for reading!

-Joey :)