React & Review: Sabrina Carpenter - Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe)
Please Please Please be good.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Sabrina Carpenter fan. I’ve been there since Girl Meets World and Eyes Wide Open. Hell, I remember years ago when I told people who my favorite artist was (her) and people would tell me they’d never heard of her, her music, or any of her other work.
Nowadays, she’s effectively a household name. Practically anyone who listens to modern music knows who she is. Short n’ Sweet was one of my favorite albums last year and to this date, I still play it frequently. It’s just that good. I’m hoping my streak of disliking deluxe variants of albums ends as I haven’t really loved them this past year.
But enough rambling, here is my first reaction and review of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe).
NOTE: I’m only going over the deluxe tracks. Click here if you’d like to read my full reaction and review of the main Short n’ Sweet album.
15 Minutes
With Sabrina, I never know what to expect. She’s never really stuck to one style or genre of music. What did surprise me, however, is starting the deluxe track off with a mood boost, especially after Don’t Smile.
Especially with how sharp and treble-forward the production is. I’m only 10 seconds (haven’t even made it to the second line of the first verse yet) and I’m baffled by the change. Those hi-hats are just 🧑🏼🍳😘 with how sharp and detailed they are. The bass and synth are great, as well, giving the track a bit of a retro vibe.
The title and overall theme of the track, I thought, was an obvious innuendo. But I think the bigger picture is that she’s terrified that this is all going to blow over really soon. That she might be a one hit wonder. As a long time fan, I’m obviously biased. But I don’t think that will be the case.
The pre-bridge reminds me a lot of Fast Times, just without the guitar taking center stage. Instead, the guitar is moved to the right channel and the strings are on the left.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a banger of a first track on the deluxe side. But I can’t help but comment on the overall production. It unfortunately sounds very boxy and compressed. I’m listening to the stereo mix on Tidal in lossless (24-bit, 44.1 kHz) quality, and even then, there seems to be a lot of compression going on. Everything sounds crushed to death.
Please Please Please (featuring Dolly Parton)
Being one of the singles on the main album, I’d be surprised if most people haven’t heard of this track yet. I don’t expect many changes beyond Dolly Parton taking a verse here and there, but I’d love it more than anything to be wrong.
I wrote too soon. I was wrong. Right off the bat, the track has a more country vibe (please, Sabrina, release a country/jazz album!). Less drums and synths and more acoustic guitar and strings. We also hear Dolly’s voice from the get go.
I guess I’m zero for two so far because what is going on with the mixing here. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me in saying that Sabrina and Dolly have wildly different voices and vocal ranges. Both vocalists coming straight down the center sound like a complete mess to me. I think it would’ve been better to double Dolly’s vocals and pan them left and right, or vice versa. Because this just does not work in my humble opinion.
Together, combined with Sabrina’s backing vocals makes it very difficult to decipher not only Dolly’s vocals but the various layers within Sabrina’s own backing vocals.
Otherwise, the various verses and scattered lines where it’s one or the other are great. In theory, it’s a great collaboration. I love the country take on this already great pop album.
Couldn’t Make It Any Harder
Oooof, the grittiness and the sheer rawness of that acoustic guitar are fantastic. Great start to a track. I love it already. Once again, a country/jazz album would be nothing short of exceptional.
In my eyes, the song is a bit tongue and cheek. Again, there are some obvious innuendos like, ’Cause I will not let you touch me. You say you can take it. But you don’t know how hard I can make it. No explanation is needed there.
The song has its raw moments, too. For example, there’s some self reflection here: But I couldn’t make it any harder to love me, and I know you’re frustrated.
In terms of production, this is my favorite track thus far. It’s not compressed to death and nothing inherently sticks out. Her vocals have space to breathe and the instrumentation doesn’t sound overbearing.
Busy Woman
I’ve heard this track before. I purchased it when it was exclusively available on her web store. It’s the song I was most looking forward to when she announced the deluxe.
I love every bit of it. I can’t really give a reaction to a song I’ve heard hundreds of times. But I will say it’s a certified head bopper. It has a great 80s vibe to it. I’m just glad to have it in a high quality FLAC vs the truly dog shit 192kbps compressed MP3.
Her vocals have space to breathe and the hi-hats and strings don’t sound compressed to hell anymore. That’s always welcome. I already loved it before and the higher quality makes me love it even more.
Bad Reviews
I’m gonna keep saying it until the end of time: Sabrina for the love of everything, please release a jazz/country album. We’d all love it, promise.
The acoustic guitar plus the strings in the left channel are great. Her vocals are definitely pointing to a more country-esk vibe. This track is an instant hit for me. It’s a certified head bopper. To be fair, Sabrina tends to pick excellent album closers. That bridge is to die for, again with the country vibes.
I think it’s fairly obvious what the song is about. In my head, it’s: no matter who I’m with, I still get hate. That’s always sad but the unfortunate reality for most women in the entertainment industry. People like to gossip and speculate.
But the good news is that regardless of what people think, she’s going with her gut. She’s not going to lose a friend over what other people think. And I think that’s the best outcome. I love that for her.
Conclusion
The bottom half was better than the top half. I really fell in love with Couldn’t Make It Any Harder and Bad Reviews. Of course, I was already a fan of Busy Woman before this release.
15 Minutes could’ve been a really good track if it was produced better and sadly the Dolly Parton feature on Please Please Please is my least favorite deluxe track.
Overall, it’s a net positive. Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) shows us a different side of Sabrina Carpenter I’ve been wanting since forever now. I wouldn’t say the streak is over, but the tides are turning for my deluxe track distastes. Did it have to come from my favorite artist? Yeah. But that’s saying a lot because I wasn’t the hugest fan of the emails i cant send: fwd deluxe tracks, either.
I said what I said and I stand by it. But three out of five is a win in my book.
NOTE: This album reaction and review was completed while listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) [24-bit, 441.kHz] on Tidal via the Roon desktop application with an active Tidal subscription.