Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet: Critics give verdicts on new album

Clash’s Ims Taylor agreed, external that the album as a whole doesn’t match her lead singles – those “sultry, retro-tinged pop bops that assert Carpenter’s place as pop star, irresistible icon, reigning supreme over charts and admirers with infinite confidence”.

“But no – Short n’ Sweet veers towards the softer, more sincere side.”

Marking it seven out of 10, Taylor added: “Carpenter is writing straight from the heart: no pretentiousness, no lofty aspirations, just precisely the silly, emotional, passionate thoughts that run through the head of a 25-year-old woman in a situationship.”

She concluded: “Short n’ Sweet as a whole is a little less addictive than its lead single, and a little less sensitive than its predecessor, but it’s a solid entry into the Sabrina canon, with plenty of potential to sneak up on you with a gut-punch should you ever find yourself relating to it.”