Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend (August 29, 2025) Album • Page 9

"Boring" seems like a fair description, based on my first listen. I was less enamored with the vibey side of the last album than I was with the really big, propulsive pop songs ("Taste," "Juno") or the country-leaning stuff ("Coincidence," "Sharpest Tool"), and this album definitely seems to steer almost exclusively into the vibey mode. Nothing really stuck out to me here on first pass, whereas my first listen to Short n Sweet was filled with moments that grabbed me right away.

 

"House Tour" is definitely the best song on this album.

 

It's probably getting way too into the weeds about things that don't matter, because she clearly is going to do fine and is a big pop star, but I am super curious to see how this does. A huge part of her fanbase is the casual fans, which isn't a bad thing, but they aren't album listeners and I think there's a big group of fans who won't even get to the back half of the album. Dropping some of the most upbeat and fun tracks in the last run is very odd

Pairing that with Manchild not being the hit that Espresso, PPP or even Taste was, and the sentiment that no one really knows this is out tomorrow... I dunno how well it will do

reddit popheads isn't being too kind to this either, her core fanbase isn't really coming to bat yetq

 

Still excited to listen to it tonight

 

sorry, I am aware this is probably a bit of a downer of a thread when it's not even technically out yet.

 

I enjoyed my first listen but I can see why people would find it boring. For me, Man’s Best Friend and Go Go Juice were the worst tracks.

 

As someone who hated Espresso and avoided Sn'S like the plague for a long time until it became one of my most listened to albums from last year, these posts are worrying.

 

Just means you’ll start to enjoy it around October time!

 

Yeah this is not hitting. The instruments are... fine? Not especially memorable, but that's not the problem.

The issue is that the lyrics are so painfully insecure. Every song sounds like she's trying so hard to be funny, but end up betraying an understanding of relationship dynamics that feels kind of outdated. "Never Getting Laid" & "My Man On Willpower" in particular have a kinda grossly posssssive vibe that would absolutely be considered problematic if the genders were reversed. The rest just rely on retro "I hate my spouse hurr-durr" jokes and gen-z "I'm just a girl, I can't help that I'm crazy" vibes.

On the last record each song felt like it was about a specific person/relationship, while this album feels like she's just going down a list of tropes, without any specificity. There are a lot of vague gestures towards fights, jealousy, weaponized incompetence, which could have been the basis for good songs, but there are very few substantive stories/anecdotes.

Also the sex innuendos are starting to feel real forced. Not the biggest problem with the record, but I was literally groaning by the time she got to the "backdoor" line in House Tour.

"Manchild," "Tears," "Go Go Juice," & "When Did You Get Hot" are my faves. I doubt the rest will really grow on me, but only time will tell.

 

Feels like the kind of record where she’ll only be playing “Manchild” from it two album cycles from now

 

Pretty much agree with the consensus. I like “Manchild” and “House Tour”. But a lot falls on the side of ‘70s folk and disco that I’m not a fan of. Kudos to her for releasing two albums in a year, but I feel like this needed more time to cook.

 

I like this, seemingly more than most people seem to, but it definitely feels like a bit of a step down and could have used some more energy/poppier moments throughout. I think her slower songs are generally her weakest stuff and she really leans into that here.

 

This doesn’t feel memorable at all for me

 

Thought the album was good. Maybe not as memorable as the last one, but still good. Think a fair few of the tracks will be growers too.

 

House Tour is it

 

The thing with Short n' Sweet and especially Espresso was that it was ubiquitous. It came out at the right time and took full advantage of that. Even getting a fraction of the success that Short n' Sweet got would be a hell of an achievement.

 

Have a feeling we’re eventually going to get that inevitable interview where she states that the sexual innuendo was pressed upon her by the label or others…it just rings so cheesy and insincere on this record, not sexy in the slightest.

 

Move on, find a new slant

 

that is the slant…pop star who can’t crack the charts with her Disney-lite records, finds a new image (sex-positive horny girl) and finally crosses over with a record and hits…then reheats the same sound for a follow up…groundbreaking

 

Are you new to pop music?

 

Just think it’s boring and played out to say oh yes this young woman isn’t *authentically* sex positive and horny, it has to be a facade

 

Yeah kinda don’t know what people were expecting with the album cover and roll out??

 

But anyways I think the album is p dece (listened to at the gym this am), middle did drag a lil bit but not gonna have all heaters like short n sweet did

 

fake horny!!!!!!