Sabrina Carpenter, the pop singer/songwriter who topped the charts with “Espresso” last summer, released her highly anticipated new album, Man’s Best Friend, on Aug. 29.
After the success of Short ‘n Sweet, Carpenter’s 2024 album featuring hit singles like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” many fans were eager to see whether she kept her signature explicit content or branched out into other themes.
The album acts largely as a social commentary on modern relationships, the mistakes people make in them and expectations around women and gender roles. Though it does contain significant R-rated material, the album has a consistent lyrical theme that flows from the opening track to the end.
“Manchild,” the first single released for the album, received widespread praise for its remarks on immature men and their behaviors in relationships, and became Carpenter’s first song to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release in June.
The album cover, however, faced equal parts praise and backlash from fans and critics.
The cover featured Carpenter in a position resembling a dog while a faceless man grabbed her hair. Some, according to the Los Angeles Times, saw the cover as promoting or encouraging sexist and misogynistic stereotypes.
Though many of her supporters say the cover is ironic and symbolizes some of the themes she carries throughout the album, Carpenter released a second version of the cover in response to the criticism, calling it, “approved by God” in a post on Instagram.
The songs following “Manchild” have the same upbeat sound and lyrical themes, making the whole track list feel like a collage of social commentary rather than a variety of different songs simply slapped together.
“Tears” is, lyrically, a back-and-forth between Carpenter’s notoriously explicit content and an insight into her experiences with men often failing to be equal providers or competent partners. Though I typically don’t find significant meaning in pop music, I think it succeeds in balancing between sharing an important message and sticking to her signature sound and content rating.
“We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” starts slowly and builds up to an emotional chorus, highlighting the darker side of the relationships she sings about and eliciting sadness or dejection in the listener. “Nobody’s Son” bounces off of those feelings and delivers what is, for many, a relatable story about heartbreak and resignation.
“House Tour,” an ‘80s synth-pop inspired track, takes a break from the commentary; the lyrics instead focus predominantly on Carpenter’s notorious explicit content.
“Goodbye” closes the album, acting as a breakup letter and farewell to the unnamed subject(s) mentioned throughout each song.
Despite the ongoing controversy, I think the album did exactly what it set out to do: be part social commentary and part R-rated innuendos, but ultimately just an album released by an artist who was happy with their work. I don’t think it was meant to be purely analytical, or permanently change social discourse. Not all albums have to.
While it’s not my favorite piece of music I’ve ever listened to, I think it reflects Carpenter’s views, sends her message and continues the sound and content that made her the sensation she is today.