Late August may hint at cooler temperatures to come, but Sabrina Carpenter is still bringing the heat. Short ‘n Sweet, chock full of sexual innuendos and cheeky lyrics, keeps listeners sizzling. 

Carpenter is full of confidence and the album’s opener, “Taste”, is no different. Opening with the lyrics “Oh I leave quite an impression”, the song highlights how Carpenter isn’t worried about her ex’s new girl. She knows the effect she had on her ex love, and that she lingers so long that his new girl will still taste her. The laid back vibe of the instrumental keeps the song from sounding too arrogant, Carpenter is simply stating the facts; she was there first. 

The album continues with “Please, Please, Please” and “Good Graces”. Both songs focus on a potential new lover. In the former, Carpenter begs her new man not to embarrass her, a feeling that anyone who has been burned in the past can recognize. In “Good Graces”, Carpenter reminds her new man that if he does embarrass her, she won’t hesitate to drop him. A groovy R&B beat accompanies the lyrics “Boy it’s not that complicated / You should stay in my good graces / Or I’ll switch it up like that / ‘Cause no one’s more amazing at turning loving into hatred”. 

With “Sharpest Tool”, Carpenter dives into the hellhole that is a situationship: the dark, uncharted space between a casual hookup and a real relationship. The song’s upbeat tempo contrasts the vulnerable lyrics about the mixed messages that are a quintessential part of a situationship. 

In “Coincidence”, Carpenter moves on from the melancholy of an undefined relationship to the annoyed part of an undefined relationship. The lyrics are accompanied by a simple guitar groove which highlights the simple fact that Carpenter’s partner’s excuses that it's just coincidence his ex is showing up again are flimsy at best. 

R&Brina makes another appearance in “Bed Chem”, where Carpenter documents the feelings that arise when you meet someone and just know that you’ll click, especially in the bedroom. Carpenter is never one to shy away from unhinged and unserious lyrics (hello “Nonsense” outros) and “Bed Chem" is no exception. The second verse opens with “Come right on me / I mean camaraderie” and also features Shakespearen language in the form of “Where art thou? / Why not uponeth me?”. 

The excitement over a new relationship continues in the album's lead single “Espresso”. Carpenter first performed the song at Coachella and it focuses on the effect she’s had on her new man. The dancey pop beat and fun lyrics quickly made it a hit. 

In “Dumb and Poetic”, Carpenter slows down and showcases her vocals. The simple guitar ballad reflects on Carpenter’s choice of man. She’s aware of the kind of guy that she likes, one that's dumb and poetic, and she knows that the guy that has broken her heart capitalized on this fact. While Carpenter is certainly vulnerable in “Dumb and Poetic”, she still isn’t afraid to remind her ex-love that he’s the problem, ending the song with “Just ‘cause you leave like one / doesn’t make you a man”. 

“Slim Pickins” shakes off the blues of “Dumb and Poetic" with a country twang. The song opens with a plucky banjo and pairs well with more of Carpenter’s sassy lyrics. Here, Carpenter laments on the struggle of finding the perfect man and settling for someone less than ideal. In the second verse she rants “Jesus what’s a girl to do? / This boy doesn’t even know the difference between ‘there’ ‘their’ and ‘they are’.” (One of her most relatable lyrics in my opinion). 

The hormones hinted at in Bed Chem come out in full force in Juno. Carpenter mentions her fuzzy pink handcuffs and tells her lover she might let him make her Juno, a reference to the 2007 movie where the titular character gets pregnant as a teenager. 

The album finishes out on a somewhat melancholy note with “Lie to Girls” and “Don’t Smile”. “Lie to Girls” delves into what a girl will do to convince herself she’s happy in a relationship. In her sweet soprano, accompanied by a stripped back guitar, Carpenter sings “You don’t have to lie to girls / If they like you they’ll just lie to themselves”.  

“Don’t Smile” rounds out the album with another R&B groove. The pain of heartbreak is clear in the song but also a touch of vengeance and resentment. Carpenter takes the classic quote “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” and flips it around telling her ex “Don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over”. She wants him to feel the same pain that she feels, to think about her even when he’s with his new girl. Carpenter told Zane Lowe for Apple music “That title is so… it’s on every Pinterest board…and I was like ‘fuck that’”. 

Overall the album is a perfect representation of dating in your young 20s. From the highs of finally being over an ex, to the lows of a “casual” relationship, and all the horniness in between, Carpenter nails every part.