Someone’s been working late because she’s coming out with a new album! Sabrina Carpenter’s seventh studio album “Man’s Best Friend” released on Aug. 29, 2025, and I have been looking forward to this album for just about forever. I absolutely adored her previous album “Short and Sweet” and I was so excited to hear what she had coming up.
In this album, Carpenter follows her classic pop-synth flair with a sprinkle of country. I do think that this album was a slight step down from her previous album. I really enjoyed “Short and Sweet” and I listen to it all the time. But, I think both of the albums sound similar which makes it hard to distinguish this one as extraordinary.
While “Short and Sweet” was more of an album that explored ideas of girlhood and it gave off more teenager vibes. I think that this album is much more mature and gives off more of what romance is like as a woman. I do feel that she is sometimes contradictory. She has a song that absolutely bashes the idea of romance with men but also has a lot of flirty and provocative types of songs.
I think the best part about this album is her vocals. Carpenter is an amazing singer and her talents have been used so well in this album. Whether it’s her riff in “When did you get hot?”, her smooth vocals in “Sugar Talking”, or her slow scatting in “Go Go Juice”, she sounds amazing in every song. The actual music of the album isn’t too impressive. But her vocals combined with the lyrics and music, with songs like “Go Go Juice” and “Goodbye” make this an album that is so fun to jam out to with your friends and a great addition to Carpenter’s iconic discography.
The song “Nobody’s Son” perfectly shows how it is to trust someone and then be disappointed once again. More than the vocals or the lyrics, I like the music. It’s very simple but the parts with strings and the whip cracks in the middle of the song add a little bit of Sabrina’s amazing touch. This is a song that I would belt out to when driving in the car with my friends.
Songs like “Tears” and “House Tour” are extremely provocative and definitely show Carpenter’s usual way of expressing and playing with her sexuality through her music. Maybe put some headphones on when listening to these (I’m not judging though!).
Both of these songs are really fun to listen to and you will never catch me skipping a reel of someone dancing to the “Tears” dance break, but I do feel that she has made much more meaningful songs. These just seem like they were made to uphold her reputation of the sweet but flirty pop star and to give out a really cool video song.
One of my favorite songs on the album is “When did you get hot?”. While the premise of the song is somewhat simple; seeing someone you haven’t seen for a while and thinking ‘Huh? When did you get hot?’. I absolutely devour her vocals in this song, they are so clean and smooth. The song seems like it would embody a candle lit room with glasses of red wine.
Overall, I think the album was underwhelming compared to “Short and Sweet” but it’s not bad at all. I will say, this album is definitely one that will grow on you. The first time I listened to it I didn’t think much of it. But as I listened to it more often (while writing this article!), it grew on me and I love the album now. It’s full of songs that would be perfect for karaoke and I, personally, would consider this a no-skip album.
