Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album, released on Aug. 29, has already sparked massive controversy due to its striking cover. “Man’s Best Friend” — Carpenter’s seventh studio album — walks the listeners through the phases of a toxic relationship including everything from the initial contempt to the final goodbye. Co-produced by Jack Antonoff and John Ryan, this concept record delivers a unique blend of country-pop, disco-rock, synth and folky ballads,  presenting a breath of fresh, 80s-inspired air that the world of pop music hasn’t seen in a while.

With this album, Carpenter took many risks by mixing different genres within singular songs and she exceeded expectations. The fusions from country to shoegaze worked together harmoniously in an unexpected, but wonderful manner. Each song was filled with a rich blend of playfulness, dreaminess and an eclectic quality. However, as a whole, the album felt disconnected musically and lyrically. Abruptly switching from genre to genre every few songs gave the project a disjointed feel, sounding more like a scattered playlist than a meticulously crafted album. That’s not to say that genre-hopping isn’t possible — Lady Gaga, Kali Uchis and Beyoncé are all artists who have successfully switched genres within a single album. Though what distinguishes said artists from Carpenter is their well-formulated storytelling through deep and emotional lyricism. 

The lyricism of “Man’s Best Friend” falls short in comparison to her previous works. Although there is a cohesive storyline between songs that follows the journey of a toxic romantic and sexual relationship, the lyrics are shallow and the metaphors are painfully simple. I believe Carpenter was going for a satirical concept, but in comparison to her prior album — which was filled with thoughtful and deliberate lyrics — it’s underwhelming. 

Each song is individually successful; they’re packed with catchy tunes, theatrical visuals and sublime vocals. The songs were filled with delightful and addictive melodies that will be going into my playlists, but as a whole album, it falls short. It’s clear that Carpenter’s genre-hopping is an attempt to represent the chaotic and raw nature of a toxic relationship, but in combination with the lackluster lyrics, the album feels empty.

In consideration of her most recent album, “Short n’ Sweet,” the purpose of “Man’s Best Friend” is unclear. Carpenter is in the middle of the “Short n’ Sweet” tour, so many fans thought that this album would be an extension of her prior project. Reddit user @flopheadsbot stated, “I love Sabrina but this album is just bad. SnS [Short n’ Sweet] was genius ... this album felt like an extension of SnS, but like the evening version.” Prior albums such as “Short n’ Sweet,” “Emails I Can’t Send,” “Singular: Act I” and “Singular: Act II” had brilliant songwriting and the songs felt more cohesive. So, the release of “Man’s Best Friend” on the heels of the success of “Short n’ Sweet” simply highlighted the work’s incoherent feel and shallow lyricism.

Immediately following the release, fans were quick to criticize the suggestive album cover. On the cover, Carpenter is seen kneeling on the floor reaching for an unknown man while he grabs her hair. Alongside her hypersexual lyrics, many condemned the album claiming that it’s anti-feminist. In an interview with the British Broadcasting System, Carpenter responded saying, “Y’all need to get out more ... for what the album is, [the cover is] perfect.” She went on to say that her pose on the cover is supposed to represent a woman’s lack of control within a relationship and their want for more control.

It’s apparent that the album is supposed to make a mockery of the toxicity in relationships and the submissive role that women play. In each song, there’s a deep message of reliance on men and sex being the solution to all of her issues. Carpenter overplays this theme which crosses the line of satire into a failed joke. I believe that the mocking nature of the album would have landed if she had shifted her focus from men after the track “Never Getting Laid” or if her lyrics had more passion and more complex metaphors.

Another issue I had with this album was how half of the songs had very similar sounds, and I believe that this is due to her collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff. Prior to this project, Carpenter rarely struggled with repetitive songs — but we see a high volume of redundancy within this single album. This isn’t the only instance though. Taylor Swift has had a longstanding partnership with Antonoff and he’s had a similar effect on her music — stripping her of her unique sound and reusing the same formula for every track. I believe the same laziness is being applied to Carpenter, and hopefully she will regain her unique sound in the future.

Overall, this album was satisfactory. Although songs like “Manchild,” “Go Go Juice,” “My Man on Willpower” and more were extremely repetitive, they allowed the songs that didn’t follow that formula to be highlighted. My personal favorites were “Sugar Talking,” “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” and “When Did You Get So Hot?” because they strayed away from the recurring sound. Although the album didn’t properly showcase Carpenter’s artistic and storytelling ability, it made for individually catchy tunes that I’m positive will accumulate immense success. I hope to see Carpenter recapture her talented songwriting abilities, and I’m excited to see what she will release next.