Album Review - "Man's Best Friend

While I love all types of music, I generally gravitate towards the pop music genre more than others. When Sabrina Carpenter announced she would be releasing her seventh studio album, I was thrilled. 

I have been listening to Carpenter since her Disney days back in 2015 and was excited when she became even more mainstream last year with her song “Espresso” and her album “Short n’ Sweet.” 

This year, the announcement of her new album, “Man’s Best Friend,” had many fans excited, especially after the release of her single “Manchild.” This song was released about two months before the rest of the album dropped and was a great teaser for fans looking forward to the album. 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that “Manchild” refers to the men who act like children in relationships. Behind this synth-pop beat, Carpenter sings about how these  

half-brained men will not leave her alone. 

While the synth-pop beat in the song gives it an energetic and disco feel, the bridge of the song also feels like it has some country influence. The bridge of the song blew up on TikTok with many people, including Carpenter, doing a line dance to this part of the song. 

In the bridge, Carpenter sings, “Oh I like my boys playing hard to get, and I like my men all incompetent, and I swear they choose me; I’m not choosing them. Amen, hey man.” Then, the lyrics repeat. 

This part of the song is addicting to listeners as the synth beat mixed with backing vocals and drums helps it feel like a dancing song. It is not hard to see why this song was arguably the song of the summer. 

After the single, Carpenter’s fans waited patiently for the rest of the album. In total, there are 12 songs, including “Manchild,” with the runtime being at 38 minutes.  

Following “Manchild” on the album is the song “Tears.” This song also has a very upbeat, pop vibe but with a different message. 

This song focuses on what her lover does that attracts her to him unlike the idiotic man child of the previous song. Carpenter sings, “A little communication, yes, that’s my ideal foreplay. Assemble a chair from IKEA, I’m like, ‘Uhhh’.”  

This guy is doing the right things for her and is making Carpenter hot for him. He is a responsible guy, who by the sounds of it, is just doing the bare minimum. 

Without getting too explicit, the song's title is not about the tears that come from your eyes. If that does not make sense to you, listen to the song really quickly and come back to this in about two minutes. 

Towards the end of the song, Carpenter finishes the chorus and calls for a dance break. The synth-pop beat comes in loud, and the disco vibe returns. 

Personally, I look forward to seeing the performance of this song just for this part. During the Short n’ Sweet tour, Carpenter’s dance team killed it, and this designated dance break seems like it was made just for them. 

Skipping down the album, her song “Go Go Juice” follows that feeling post-breakup where you just want to have a good time but also make some questionable decisions. 

The chorus goes, “I'm just drinking to call someone. Ain't nobody's safe when I'm a little bit drunk. Could be John or Larry, gosh, who's to say? Or the one that rhymes with ‘villain’ if I'm feeling that way.”  

We all have that friend who when they get a little bit of liquor in them wants to start calling up their exes. This song is another fun bop to listen to, especially as Carpenter says that classic line everyone says, “Sipping on my go-go juice, I can’t be blamed.” 

This album was amazing. It is well-produced and flows perfectly into the next song. While I probably still prefer the “Short n’ Sweet” album, this album is still amazing and has virtually no skips.