Short n' Sweet [Deluxe Edition]

by Sabrina Carpenter

Overview

With 2024's Short n' Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter reintroduces herself on an instant-classic summer album of stylishly fun, smartly executed pop. Having started out as a Disney kid in the 2010s, Carpenter had already transcended her early years by the time she released 2022's Emails I Can't Send, an album that found her fusing a personal singer/songwriter style with warm pop and dance hooks. Short n' Sweet takes her transformation even further, essentially starting fresh with a more potent and sophisticated sound, one that perfectly captures her cherubically resonant vocals and cheeky, eye-winking confidence. It doesn't hurt that she's teamed with two of the most empathetic pop producers in Jack Antonoff and Julian Bunetta. Also on board as co-writers and producers are John Ryan, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Amy Allen. This is a good team for Carpenter, who makes the most of her collaborations, moving between sultry, '70s-inspired disco and soul (via Bunetta) and breezy, '80s-inspired pop/rock (via Antonoff). There's the sparkling pop/rock opener, "Taste," which sounds improbably as if Tom Petty had written a song for Madonna in the '80s. We also get the romantic "Please Please Please," with its Electric Light Orchestra synths and multi-tracked Fleetwood Mac harmonies. Elsewhere, Carpenter deftly responds to the cotton-soft pop and R&B vibes of her contemporaries Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift on cuts like "Good Graces," "Sharpest Tool," and "Bed Chem" -- tracks that are truly low-key bangers that get stuck in your head. What's so great about her work here is how effortless and genuine the album sounds. Carpenter is a co-writer on every track, and there's a sharpness and gentle wit to the lyrics throughout. On "Taste," she revels the lasting impression she has surely made on her ex and by proxy his new paramour, coyly singing, "You're wonderin' why half his clothes went missin'/My body's where they're at/Now I'm gone, but you're still layin'/Next to me, one degree of separation." Even on the break-out summer hit "Espresso," with its flirty Euro-dance-club-meets-new-jack-swing vibe, Carpenter oozes a cool, knowing sensuality, ably owning the deliciously cheeky "me oh, my oh, that's me espresso" rhyme scheme. The song, which at first seems to be aiming for a fun, lightweight take on Earth, Wind & Fire, quickly reveals itself as one of those indispensable summer anthems that, as with all of Short n' Sweet, is sure to bubble back up every year. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	02/14/2025
Label:	Island
UPC:	0602475748274

Tracks

1. Taste
2. Please Please Please
3. Good Graces
4. Sharpest Tool
5. Coincidence
6. Bed Chem
7. Espresso
8. Dumb & Poetic
9. Slim Pickins
10. Juno
11. Lie To Girls
12. Don't Smile
13. 15 Minutes
14. Please Please Please
15. Couldn't Make It Any Harder
16. Busy Woman
17. Bad Reviews

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sabrina Carpenter   Primary Artist,Vocals,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Dolly Parton   Primary Artist
Aaron Sterling   Guitar,Bass,Drums
John Ryan   Percussion,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Keyboards,Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar
Mikey Freedom Hart   Slide Guitar
Jack Antonoff   Bass,Drums,Organ,Piano,Sitar,Mellotron,Percussion,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Rob Moose   Strings
Julian Bunetta   Keyboards,Percussion,Bass,Drums,Guitar
Amy Allen   Vocals (Background)
Sean Hutchinson   Drums,Percussion
Steph Jones   Vocals (Background)
Ian Kirkpatrick   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Evan Smith   Flute
Julia Michaels   Vocals (Background)
Bobby Hawk   Violin
Francisco Ojeda   Double Bass

Technical Credits

Aaron Sterling   Programming
John Ryan   Programming,Mixing Engineer,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Mixing
Paul Lane   Product Manager
Mikey Freedom Hart   Engineer
David Hart   Engineer
Jeff Gunnell   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Serban Ghenea   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Jack Antonoff   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Manny Marroquin   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Steph Jones   Composer
Julian Bunetta   Producer,Recording,Programming,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Nathan Dantzler   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Amy Allen   Composer
Sean Hutchinson   Engineer
Gabrielle Rosen   A&R
Joey Miller   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Ian Kirkpatrick   Composer,Producer,Recording
Jack Manning   Engineer,Assistant,Recording,Assistant Engineer
Evan Smith   Engineer
Julia Michaels   Composer
Ruairi O'Flaherty   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Laura Sisk   Engineer,Recording
Sarah Carpenter   Art Direction
Sabrina Carpenter   Composer
Oli Jacobs   Engineer,Recording,Assistant Engineer
Jackie Winkler   A&R
Bryce Bordone   Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Zach Pereyra   Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Anthony Vilchis   Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Trey Station   Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Harrison Tate   Assistant,Mastering Engineer,Assistant Mastering Engineer
Chase Shewbridge   Graphic Design
Gloria Jozwicki   A&R
Jozef Caldwell   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Dannah Gottlieb   Creative Director