Taste- Firstly, what a punchy opening to an album! With elements of both Pop and Country, this song talks about how Sabrina was involved with someone who was originally with someone, then moved onto her and then moved back to the first partner, with a lot of people debating that this could be about Shawn Mendes, especially as we know who his former girlfriend was/maybe is again! With witty lyrics such as 'I leave quite an impression, 5 feet to be exact.' 'Heard you're back together and if that's true, you just have to taste me when he's kissing you.' & 'I know I've been known to share!' this track serves as almost a revenge song to her ex, especially when you watch the Death Becomes Her inspired music video with her and Jenna Ortega playing their version of Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp with them trying to kill each other before realising that they can't, so then they kill the boyfriend, it's pure genius!
Please, Please, Please- Again definitely has that Country twang to it with the acoustic guitar action in the verses which then turns into a line dancing sounding Pop song during the chorus with a clap in the middle, but for some reason it works. This song is produced by the legendary producer Jack Antonoff, so of course I was going to be a fan from first chord as I love what he's created previously for both The 1975 and Taylor Swift (and I wouldn't even call myself a Swifty!). My favourite line is 'Heartbreak is one thing, my ego's another, I beg you don't embarrass me mother f**ker' it's just so brutal and honest and it's clearly about her latest boyfriend as she's clearly giving him a warning not to mess up as otherwise things will go down haha! Again the video for this song was perfect, with Barry Keoghan playing the messed up, criminal, boyfriend who is constantly getting into trouble, whilst Sabrina plays the sweet girlfriend who has to go along with his antics while she sings the song, it's so clever and fun to watch!
Good Graces- Is such an honest song about how it's best to stay on Sabrina's good side as she's not shy about changing her mind if something doesn't work for her. The iconic line in this song is 'I won't give a f**k about you' x 4. This song to me is a pure pop bop as it just makes you want to dance as soon as you hear it as it's super fun and playful!
Sharpest Tool- Is a mid tempo song that picks up in the chorus. It's not my favourite song on the album, but it is slowly growing on me and I love how Sabrina's voice sounds on this track, it has a very soulful tone to it which sounds lovely!
Coincidence- I really love this song! Again I think this is about the same person as in Taste, as it suggests someone who is going back to a previous lover, hence why she talks about her boyfriend losing their common sense. It has a Country vibe and my favourite lyrics are ' What a surprise, your phone just died' and ' Your car drove itself from LA to her thighs!' as they are so brutal and honest which as listeners is something that we love to hear!
Bed Chem- One of my top songs for sure! It has a smooth, cute, but yet sexy vibe to it hence the name of the title and it's a catchy fun Pop song, so what's not to love!
Espresso- As I've already mentioned was the song of the summer, need I say more (but I will!). It's the perfect up tempo, Pop song with the iconic lyrics 'I'm working late, cos I'm a singer'. Just fabulous!
Dumb & Poetic- Is a totally different vibe to the rest of the album as to me it shows more of Sabrina's more thoughtful and serious side which we don't see in the other songs as much until we get to the last couple of tracks. It has a much slower tempo and it really shows off her vocal range as her voice goes from a soft lower tone quickly to a punchier higher tone. It's a beautiful song!
Slim Pickins- Is definitely one of the most relatable songs on the album for sure as yes indeed most of the good ones are ' deceased or taken' unfortunately! This song is giving pure Country vibes, especially with the banjo, which I don't think I've ever heard in a Pop song before, but I actually love its use here.
Juno- Is what fans are calling the 'Nonsense' song on this album which if you've listened to her previous album, you know what this means and I think they are correct. The title does refer to the film of the same name, so she is basically saying that she's attracted to this guy so much, that she wouldn't actually mind getting pregnant by him haha. It's fun, upbeat and indeed very catchy!
Lie To Girls- Again paints a sadly true picture of the fact that if some girls like a guy they will lie to themselves about why they should stay with them anyway, no matter their flaws. The acoustic guitar returns which I love and it has one of my favourite lyrics on the album ' Love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest'. I just think that is genius writing and you can almost feel the pain as soon as she sings this line.
Don't Smile- Totally gives late summer vibes, while you are driving either towards a beach if you indeed live in California or if like me you live in the UK, I can imagine people listening to this if they are driving back home at night on the motorway, again in summer. The lyrics are actually quite sad as the prominent line for me is 'Don't smile cos it happened baby, cry because it's over' from the chorus, so it's clearly about a breakup and to me it sounded like it affected Sabrina more than the guy which again makes you feel sorry for her of course. It's a beautifully produced song and a perfect end to the record.
Now that I've reviewed every song, I want to briefly talk about why I believe Sabrina's success has flourished this year in particular. I believe it started from her last two(ish) albums emails I can't send and the extended version of the album emails I can't send fwd: as these albums released two important songs for her- Nonsense from the original version in 2022 and Feather from the updated 2023 version. Both these songs were major hits for her, both here and in the UK and she even performed at some of our festivals in 2023, including the Capital Summertime Ball where everyone knew the words to those lyrics, so already she was a well established artist oversees, not just in America. In 2022 she even made a Christmas version of Nonsense, which again put her into people's minds. Then we move to this year, 2024 of course and she supports Taylor Swift on her American lag of her Eras tour, which propelled her into loads of people's minds who were unaware of her before (which I'm sure many people do thank Taylor for!) This coincided with the release of Espresso, or it may have been released as soon as she finished the tour and then BANG, everyone knows that the woman who supported Taylor is now releasing a new single and so people of course want to hear it and because it is an amazing, fun and catchy song, it then gets used both on TikTok and Instagram Reels, making her popularity rise even more! So to me it was honestly a mixture of both her talent being shown to people live and the use of her song on social media platforms that really helped her star to shine even brighter!
What are your thoughts on Short n' Sweet? I'd love to know what your favourite songs are!
Thanks for reading
Chantal x
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