By Narayan Saimbi
Sabrina Carpenter’s music is no stranger to good production. Whether it’s on the controversial singer’s singles such as “Feather”, or the entirety of her “Short n’Sweet” album, Sabrina’s tongue-in-cheek lyricism combined with poppy instrumentals make some incredibly compelling tracks to listen to. However on “Man’s Best Friend”, the production quality feels like it’s been dialled straight up to 11.
Just as with “Short n’Sweet”, Jack Antonoff’s behind the production wheel here. But unlike Sabrina’s previous album, he isn’t playing it safe this time. This is Antonoff at his best, putting every idea in, seeing what fits and creating a brilliant pop album as a result. Every track fits a new genre, but they all have elements of an 80s feel in them- this makes this project, which would otherwise be very disjointed, as cohesive as it possibly can be.
Starting with “Manchild”, Antonoff already sows the seeds of 80s drums and synth patterns into our ears, accompanied by Sabrina’s usual combination of tongue-in-cheek lyrics and country twang. The album then moves to “Tears”, a song about Sabrina’s desire over a man putting in the bare minimum effort for the relationship to reasonably function. “Tears” is Sabrina at her lyrical best on this project and she does not disappoint here
As stated, 80s drums and synths are a common theme on this album. However, Antonoff experiments significantly with how to portray Sabrina’s sound throughout this entire project. Whether it’s the breathy vocals on the intro of “We Almost Broke Up Again”, the RnB instrumentals of “When Did You Get Hot?”, or the fast-paced energy of “House Tour”, Antonoff brings something new on almost every track, keeping you constantly listening out with every new verse and chorus that Sabrina sings. A personal favourite is the last track “Goodbye”, where ABBA-esque piano flourishes are plentiful and act as a perfect sign-off at the end of the album.
Image Credits: Glitz by Beauty Insider
Whilst Antonoff does achieve cohesion between these different genres, the project does seem to lack a clear sense of identity compared to “Short n’Sweet”. With “Short n’Sweet”, there were so many common elements between tracks to link them all together- this is also where most of us heard Sabrina’s iconic witty lyricism in one complete project. Also, in “Short n’Sweet”, Sabrina is a woman scorned, writing songs that are sexy, playful but overall unserious. In “Man’s Best Friend”, Sabrina is still a woman scorned, but the lyricism seems to be caught in two identities; Sabrina is trying to both be a woman who is visibly upset and disappointed with every man she comes across but also a woman who is still playful and unserious. Like I say, Antonoff does make the project work, but there’s definitely a lack of clarity with “Man’s Best Friend” that did not appear in “Short n’Sweet”.
Ultimately, this is Sabrina Carpenter trying to find her feet in a follow-up project to a globally successful album- “Short n’Sweet” did win “Best Pop Vocal Album” and Best Engineered Album Non- Classical” at the 2025 Grammys, as well as Album of the Year at the American Music Awards. The fact that Sabrina did not simply try and emulate the sound of “Short n’Sweet” is promising, showing that she’s still trying to grow as an artist with every new album she releases. Whilst the project is somewhat caught between two identities, “Man’s Best Friend” is still a catchy, fun yet sonically intriguing pop album that will leave you relistening to the tracks again and again for days on end. Overall, it is a suitable follow-up for Sabrina that improves on “Short n’Sweet” dramatically, with regard to the production quality in particular.
Sabrina Carpenter’s time in the spotlight is still only just beginning and “Man’s Best Friend” leaves me already looking forward to whatever project she cooks up next.
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
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