Sabrina’s House is on Pretty Girl Avenue!
“Man’s Best Friend,” Sabrina Carpenter’s seventh studio album, was announced on June 11th of this year. The album cover, an image of herself kneeling down in a black dress with a figure (mainly cropped out the picture) seen grabbing a fistful of her hair similar to holding a dog leash. The splash of controversy surrounding the album cover due to the imagery many found provocative or highly regressive, along with a tidal wave of her new found-fame gained from her previous album , “Short n’ Sweet,” set the record to be met with feverish anticipation. On the album’s release, “Man’s Best Friend” debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, making it the singer’s second consecutive chart-topper. All twelve tracks from the album’s standard edition debuted simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 within the first week of its launch. The album’s lead single, “Manchild,” debuted at Number 1 on the Hot 100, marking her second song to top that chart.
“Man’s Best Friend” tackles a variety of thematic explorations, as implied through the album’s satirical title and general lyrical style. A central theme revolves around the challenge of navigating gender roles within the male-female power balance in relationships. Carpenter uses her biting humor to portray men within the “manchild archetype,” while simultaneously exploring the pressures of conforming to male expectations, versus asserting one’s own sexual identity and desires. The singer’s hyper-feminine aesthetics can be seen as a form of armor or satire.
Another key note about the record is in regards to its lyricism. Through comedic exaggeration, serious and emotional topics are masked by catchy melodies and laugh-out-loud lines. Navigating through the record feels like reading a long text full of satire, wit and humor. To understand the core of this project, we must start at the beginning:
“Never heard of self-care, half your brain just ain’t there.”
“Manchild” starts the story off by taking a jab at immature men. The country-influenced synth-pop song brings a light-hearted melody into a world of a tortured girl who always finds herself with a man that refuses to grow up. Sabrina wishes to separate herself from his drama or dependency, distancing herself from these recurring dynamics of the men that gravitate towards her.
“Remembering how to use your phone gets me oh so, oh so, oh so hot!”
“Tears” changes the vibe from country to disco, with the song's erotic lyrics describing Sabrina’s fantasies that stem from the thought of a man simply being responsible and caring. The theme of the song pokes fun at the fact that the bare minimum in the modern age has become the greenest of flags. In the words of Sabrina, “A little initiative can go a very long, long way.”
“My man won’t touch me with a twenty-foot pole!”
“My Man on Willpower” is one of my personal favorites. Serving as one of the album’s sharpest doses of lyrical satire, the song uses its vibrant pop sounds to mask a central frustration: a lover who learned self-restraint. The song is premised on the idea that Sabrina’s partner has become overly respectful towards her, leaving her feeling completely unwanted. This complex dynamic is summarized by Sabrina’s exhaustion over his temporary use of his “willpower.” The song ends with Sabrina saying that he won’t even touch her with a twenty-foot pole, a hit on the nose compared to the manchild archetype she’s used to.
“You filled my whole apartment with flowers that die.”
“Sugar Talking” handles the opposite problem from its predecessor: the guy who’s all sweet with empty words. The track is a catchy examination of the insincere flattery and verbal manipulation masked as “sugar talking.” Sabrina describes her lover as lacking any substance or nutritional value in his words, yet she admits to enjoying the flavor of the lies in the short term.
“I hear it in his eyes, he sees it in my tone.”
“We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” is another one that captured me on the first listen. Sabrina trades the polished disco-pop energy for a softer, reflective tempo, diving into themes of emotionally unstable relationships and the cycle of conflict and resolution. This song sums up the emotional whiplash that comes from the always existing state of “almost” ending things, but never entirely.
“There’s nobody’s son, not anyone left for me to believe in.”
“Nobody’s Son,” one of the more popular tracks off the record, saw its success through the combination of blunt honesty and post-disillusionment pop structure. The song works as a raw declaration of the modern dating fatigue. Sabrina has essentially given up on the idea of finding an idealized partner, stating that “nobody’s son” is out there to give her any hope of a healthy relationship.
“I just hope you get agoraphobia some day.”
After a beautiful transition from the end of “Nobody’s Son,” we get the smooth track that is “Never Getting Laid.” The slinky and R&B infused song blends the deceptively simple and highly repetitive verses, wrapping up the song in almost a rapid, spoken-word style. Sabrina wishes her partner best after their breakup, while internally wishing them to never leave their home or meet anyone new.
“It’s thickening the plot… when did you get so hot?”
“When Did You Get So Hot?” is pretty self-explanatory. Sabrina finds herself face-to-face with the glow-up of “Devin.” The song follows her thought process throughout their interaction. An absolute goldmine of funny material rooting in the absurdity of dating nostalgia and post-breakup glow-ups.
“Bye, it’s me, how’s mm-call, do you me still love?”
“Go Go Juice” arrives like a can of highly concentrated confidence and energy. Musically, the song is a pure shot of adrenaline. Lyrically, it’s the pure celebration of self-absorption. Sabrina realizes the greatest high in life isn’t romance—it’s the untainted buzz of not being held completely responsible while drunk calling your ex. As the name of the track implies, Sabrina mentions that nobody is safe while she enjoys her “Go Go Juice.”
“And I’ll never call you right back, but when I do, I’m making you laugh.”
“Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” is the cold, calculated threat of how much Sabrina knows she’ll make her lover hurt if she chooses to leave him. While he plays her game, he’ll have to endlessly worry about upsetting her or potentially sabotaging his lifeline. I think the last line of the song sums it up pretty well, “I'll leave you feeling like a shell of a man.”
“And I promise none of this is a metaphor!”
By far the wildest and most rhythmically infectious song on the album, “House Tour” combines genres of new jack swing and dance-pop with lyrics that make your jaw drop after a second thought. Sabrina’s obvious sexual implications are at an all-time high on this track, naming the floors of her “house” as the general bases of a relationship. At the end of the track, Sabrina states that her house is a place where our dreams come true, and invites us in!
“Well, sayonara. Adiós. You’re not bilingual, but you should know…”
“Goodbye,” the final track of the album, refers to it being the album closer, as well as telling a lover “goodbye!” Serving as the definitive final word, the song provides the narrative resolution that the entire album has been building toward. With heavy inspiration from ABBA, “Goodbye” is Sabrina’s message of high self-respect: this person is no longer worth any emotional exertion. She’s not raging or heartbroken; she’s just done!
Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, “Man’s Best Friend,” is not confined to the superficial drama of breakups, but a sharp, rhythmically infectious piece that details the themes of satirical self-sufficiency and the exhaustion of modern dating.