“Man’s Best Friend” album cover (Courtesy of Island Records)
Rhett Kaya: From TikTok trends to the latest Taylor Swift album, there is always something CU Boulder students are obsessing over, opinionated about or adding to their vernacular. The Culture Critic will keep you up to date with the latest in entertainment and popular culture through content reviews, analysis and my self-proclaimed professional opinion.
The “Espresso” singer’s genre-hopping roller coaster, “Man’s Best Friend,” lacks the “Go Go Juice” of her previous caffeine-charged hits.
You may have first heard Sabrina Carpenter’s name in reference to the “blonde girl” Olivia Rodrigo mentioned in her 2021 song, “Driver’s License.” The emotional ballad launched Rodrigo into global superstardom and birthed “sad girl pop,” a subsection of pop designed to pull at heartstrings and drive tissue sales. While many have followed in the footsteps of Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, Carpenter had other plans, accumulating a devoted fan base and commercial success through the opposite, vibrant and often crude pop, throwing listeners into laughing fits rather than tears.
On her infectious sixth record, “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter showcased her ability to bend her raunchy humor and dulcet voice into various genres, ultimately leaving us asking, “What if?” What if Carpenter went full ABBA instead of just dipping her toes in the water on “Please Please Please”? What if she went full Olivia Newton-John instead of just covering “Hopelessly Devoted to You” on tour? In regard to this, in her most recent record, “Man’s Best Friend,” Carpenter breaks free of any genre binds that may have held her back before, indulging in a slew of genres rather than just sampling them. The result is a sonic salad with ingredients bound to leave a poor taste in the mouths of those hoping for another bubblegum pop jaunt through the Billboard Hot 100. A friend to all is a friend to none, and while aiming to appease the masses, “Man’s Best Friend” might leave the traditional pop listener with nothing left to say or hear besides “Mamma Mia.”
As Carpenter jumps from ’60s-inspired beach pop to ’90s R&B, the genre shifting can be jolting. Each track is as nostalgic and colorful as the most popular Disneyland rides, making the record feel less like a cohesive whole and more of a hodgepodge of jukebox hits that likely played at your grandparents’ wedding. What could be labeled as half-hearted amusement park pop is saved by Carpenter’s signature charm and timeless voice, which lends itself naturally to both synths and fiddles.
Sabrina Carpenter in the “Manchild” music video (Courtesy of YouTube)
Among the strongest of her ventures is the lead single, “Manchild,” a synth-pop-country hybrid in which Carpenter simultaneously expresses disdain and adoration for her previous suitors. While some griped about the continued use of ’80s-esque synths in modern pop, the mixed reaction to the single was eclipsed by a larger backlash towards the accompanying album cover. Whether Carpenter posed on her knees while a man grips a portion of her hair to be satirical, sexy, or purely cosmetic is not answered across the record’s twelve tracks, although, in promotional interviews, she claimed the cover represents “being in control of your lack of control.”
In the Sabrina Carpenter universe, men are typically the victims of her twisted jokes, but on “Man’s Best Friend,” the singer pokes fun at herself more than anyone, particularly evident in “Tears,” in which she informs men that doing the bare minimum is enough to turn her on. Maybe getting pulled by the curls is regressive at face value, but Carpenter’s ability to satirize and, more so, exaggerate modern dating culture might just be the key to her success. Men’s incompetence is still the villain in this story, but here Carpenter is willing to admit her continued tolerance and affection for a “manchild” is part of the problem, too.
“Man’s Best Friend” sees Carpenter thrown into the post-breakup ringer, drinking at 10:00 am just to call a rebound on “Go Go Juice” and manifesting a life of abstinence for her ex on “Never Getting Laid.” On the closing track, “Goodbye,” she insists that goodbye means goodbye forever, yet halfway through the bridge, she “accidentally” invites her ex over for a hook-up in mangled Spanish. She’s not taking control or giving in either; she’s submitting to the ride, however hellish or joyous it may be, and you can bet your doggy bones, she’ll crack a few jokes along the way.
You can listen to “Man’s Best Friend” on all available music streaming platforms.
Contact CU Independent Opinion Editor Rhett Kaya at rhett.kaya@colorado.edu
