Sabrina Carpenter- Man’s Best Friend
Label: Island
Producers: Sabrina Carpenter, Jack Antonoff, John Ryan
When Sabrina Carpenter broke through to the national pop consciousness in 2023, and then quickly ascended to the pop music A-list with the release of 2024’s Short ‘n Sweet, you would’ve been forgiven for mistaking it as a case of overnight success. In reality however, Carpenter is already a decade into her recording career at this point, having slowly gestated into the confidently commanding and ubiquitously popular superstar that she is in the present day.
And let’s just be frank about the unmistakable identity that Carpenter possesses in today’s cultural sphere: she is modern music’s charming, cheeky, and unapologetically sexually-charged pop-tart. She doesn’t make any attempts to shy away from it, and it’s presently successful for her due to the cunningly sharp, charming, and sardonic way with which she presents the content and imagery of her music. In other words, she knows this is pop music, and she refreshingly doesn’t take it too seriously. Case-in-point: her navigation of the recent prudish controversy over this album’s cover-art. (Translation: if you’d prefer to purchase this music under the “God-approved” cover, it’s not for you! And that’s okay! Move along!).
Unquestionably, this is a limiting music identity that she’ll need to inevitably evolve past if she wants to achieve the longevity of her heroes like Donna, Dolly, Madonna, and Shania, all women whose sexuality was a central pillar of their music, but not one that ultimately defined their overall canons. But for right now, in the waning days of the Summer of 2025, this era of Sabrina is nowhere near reaching the expiration of its novelty or appeal. Pop music fans and followers like us loved what we heard on Short n’ Sweet, and we’re hungry for more on Man’s Best Friend.
And that’s exactly what Carpenter delivers throughout this record. Anchored by her winking songbird vocals, and against a glitzy backdrop of sparkling pop, disco-fried dance–and for a joyous moment, fiddling country–she unleashes another arsenal of infectious, surefire hits. Like Short ‘n Sweet’s track-list before it, seemingly endless tracks like “Manchild”, “Tears”, “Nobody’s Son”, “Never Getting Laid”, “When Did You Get Hot?” and “House Tour” (just to name a lot and the very best moments, but there honestly aren’t any duds) find Carpenter tackling all of the sexual politics of relationships and gender roles with the same cutting hooks, insatiable melodies, and pinches of all-out raunchiness that made its predecessor such an insatiable pop feast. The candy-coated packaging of the keen social observations present in her compositions prevents them from receiving the proper attention for the meaty relevance they carry, but it’s that presentation that also makes them so welcome. They indeed have something to say, but do so in the kind of entertaining, escapism dressing that pop fanatics ravenously crave, especially in today’s depressing social climate and world news-cycle.
Meanwhile, it takes no more than a pair of listens to realize that these tracks will have the same durable contagion that the preceding album possessed. We can and should naturally expect Best Friend to be mined relentlessly for more of the major pop moments that will define playlists for the next twelve months. Turns out these tunes provide further proof that Sabrina isn’t just man’s best friend; she’s a present-day pop-fan’s as well.
Track Listing:
- “Manchild” (Sabrina Carpenter, Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen)
- “Tears” (Carpenter, Allen, John Ryan)
- “My Man on Willpower” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen, Ryan)
- “Sugar Talking” (Carpenter, Allen, Ryan)
- “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen)
- “Nobody’s Son” (Carpenter, Allen, Ryan)
- “Never Getting Laid” (Carpenter, Allen, Ryan)
- “When Did You Get Hot?” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen, Ryan)
- “Go-Go Juice” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen, Ryan)
- “Don’t Worry, I’ll Make You Worry” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen)
- “House Tour” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen, Ryan)
- “Goodbye” (Carpenter, Antonoff, Allen)
The 706 
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