Sabrina Carpenter has been a real up and comer in the entertainment industry, singing, acting on tv, and even doing a very brief broadway stint, cut short by the pandemic. emails i can’t send, offers an inside view of what it might mean to be a young woman dealing with the pitfalls of love, using the framework of emails, giving us a diary like view into Carpenter’s mind, with the assistance of course of an army of session musicians and producers that deserve equal credit for this album.
1 – Title Track
It begins with a soft filter piano slash chord, immediately setting
us up for a resolution. Then straight into a simple piano ballad, using mid to
high notes. The singing breathy, somewhat imperfect, yet supporting the lyrics.
Carpenter’s application of the “Down-II-V” harmonic structure is reminiscent of
Ariana Grande. In comes the cello, with the lyric “there’s no us and us”, ironically
as another instrument joins. Perhaps this is representative that the sadness is
shared. Or not. The music feels like an end credits song for a soap, interesting
for an opener. The cello is joined by a viola adding countermelody, as the filters
on the piano are lifted to give it a punchier tone. From “If I do”, pizzicato violins
join, completing the string quartet. This section introduces some harmonic variation,
with a V over 7 chords looping around. It escalates, until all of a sudden it is
all dropped away for the aside “please fucking fix this”. The soft piano comes
back for the final lyrics, then is closed by a short instrumental close off, extremely
reminiscent of “love and mercy” by Brian Wilson. I suppose carpenter has none
of this anymore, “as they say in Chicago, he had it coming”
As an opener it sets a great tone for what comes, staying
simple, maybe a bit derivative, but pulls away from no brutal punches.
Rating: 9/10
2 – Vicious
The first track is piano based, but this is guitar based, with
a light but low strumming. Vocals come in with percussion. The mixing is tight,
interspersed with synths as it approaches the chorus, where a bass is added.
What a happy tone for such a dark song about; maybe Carpenter is triumphant
about being able to say he is vicious. No more self-gaslighting. The second
verse has a booming kick drum, ending on a slightly distorted belt. The next
chorus has upper harmonies, in an irresistibly catchy melody. The bridge has extremely
distorted guitar solo against unisons between the bass, acoustic guitar, and
drums, whilst Carpenter does a devolved take on the chorus. The final section
is imbued with heavy distortion, giving a lofi bedroom producer vibe. Obviously,
the production is in reality, immaculate.
It is cheerful, and a bit of a headbanger, but I must say it
gets a bit repetitive midway through.
Rating 7/10
3 – Read your Mind
The last track might have had lofi allusions, but the beginning
of this with the pads and the vibes is such peaceful moment. Then, all hell
breaks loose as it goes into a J-Pop/Club-esque backbeat. The vocal sits so nice
amongst the strings and pads. The bass is added as the strings do a glissando
trick in a countermelody. The chorus begins as a drum and bass vibe, but after
a fluttering of strings and pads, becomes an almost Kylie Minogue style bop. It
ends on a bit of bass drum reverb and the trail and the wisps of a riser,
leading into a slap bass section of funk. The bass even serves as a harmony
line in sections. Cool! The bridge drops the drums, as Carpenter sings a bit of
the chorus. Finally, she sings all kinds of cuts and flourishes on top of a
repeat of the chorus. The ending with the strings is decisive, suggesting a self-assured
narrative, she can read minds. On a side note, this track feels very FLStudio to
me.
This is enjoyable and brings a bit of funk to the album.
Rating: 8/10
4- Tornado Warnings
Filters and reverb colour the beginning of this track, as
Carpenter recounts her seesaw story. Bass joins in, countered by the
introduction of an e-piano. The chorus “I guess maybe that’s why”, has the
drums set back in the background with the drums to make us feel as if we are inside
her head. What a fantastic application of effects. In the second verse we get a
bit of guitar then a bit of synth effects, creating reverb. The reverb adds distance
to the track. The drumming in the chorus is weird mesh of a backbeat and an EDM
drive, odd but it sounds good. It falls away then builds back up to the final
chorus, ending on guitar delays indecisively.
The effects and drums are cool, but I feel like this track
could have had a more diverse bridge section.
Rating 6/10
5 – Already Over
Kick beats sidechained to acoustic guitars is a strange
choice, but it does highlight the kicks, as a sort of heartbeat, signifying the
heartache of a quiet rejection. The chorus is a true chorus with backing vocals
harmonising every note, as if to indicate that this experience is common. The
bass is fat and juicy and provides energy.
This song doesn’t have a lot to it, but it does hit
Rating 6.5/10
6 – because i liked a boy
The guitar into to this with the delay gives showtunes
vibes, but also borrows from the musical vocabulary of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang”.
The singing is clear, documenting a falling in love and the total innocence of it
all, which is stripped away for the chorus. The pads, bass and drums (filtered
to almost death) sound amazing, without losing touch with the guitar in the
side. The plagal cascade chord progression is a staple of rock, and more
recently “sad girl music”. I think it sounds churchy, with roots in African American
gospel, juxtaposing with all the slut talk. After this we have a luxurious
piano section. The next verse has missing notes behind walls of filter as everything
begins “derailing”. The next chorus has bright piano chords up high, contrasted
with a doom filling bass. Harmonies in fourths really confirms that the world
is ending in this section. We have a drop down and a build back up, of great
note is the chant of “we’d already broken up”. The final chorus ends without
backing.
What a track this is, literal goosebumps. I would however
say it might be a touch overproduced.
Rating: 8.5/10
6 – how many things
This begins as a nice guitar ballad, with multiple guitars
filling all gaps, whilst preserving dynamic tone. The vocals going into “I consider
you” bring out a touch of Dorian mode, with the introduction of an electric
guitar. Carpenter builds up, then spits out a solo line without backing. She is
joined by guitars, as we take in the lyrical content. I wonder if the many guitars
are representative of “many things”. It ends with little fanfare on dry space.
Nothing much happens in the track; the lyrics are good
though.
Rating: 6/10
7 – bet u wanna
It begins with a western movie style guitar, setting up the feel
of a duel. The vocals come in with a tight drum and bass. Guitars and
percussion are progressively added, rising the stakes. The chorus strips it
away, leaving just drums and bass, however Carpenters vocals are in octaves, in
a snakelike sound. I do like the old-fashioned classic tambourine sound. The
second verse is coloured by wind chimes adding a sense of mystery. The song is
almost a classic revenge song, boasting about how much the target wants her
now. Or maybe, its all cope. Either way it sounds great. The bridge widens the
soundscape with disco style string features and a bottle percussion moment, the
drums fall away, allowing us to feel the total sidechained power of the bass.
This is a track that surprised me, and it takes different
perspective to the others. I also liked the bridge.
Rating: 7.5/10
8 -Nonsense
With a gypsy jazz style guitar riff in the background, we
hear a progression punctuated by a “Down-II-V” overlayed with a country guitar.
We are hit with the force of an 808 bass and intonation borrowing heavily from Ariana
Grande and a bit of mumble rap. The drums are in a reactive trap beat, responding
to the bass. All the vocals fly around the mix. The chants section of “all around
the clock” intercepting the driving trap offer a bit of oxygen, giving Carpenter
supremacy over the sounds. The guitar backing continues regardless of the bass.
In a way that country guitar overlayed with savage bass might have its genesis
in Pink Floyd’s “Pigs”.
Solid, driving and impactful, this track hits
Rating: 7.5/10
9 – Fast Times
The second single begins with octave piano basslines with a
dry drumbeat. We are hit with intense back and forth motion of guitars and
piano, later joined by bass, giving a supreme tension. We hit into a chord
change, with the bass playing around at “these are fast times”, the backing vocals
nail a sense of etherealness that the fast life can only supply. Second verse returns
to the start with a triangle hit but reiterating with the help of the bass and strings.
The strings provide a tonne of edge to the second chorus. The bridge offers an opportunity
for a sort of bass solo, with Carpenter singing a devolved form of the chorus, ending
on silence. Slam! Straight into a keyboard solo with so much sass it pushes you
off the chair. She sings the remainder of the chorus to the end. I can’t
comment on this track without mention of the video. Clearly a throwback to Britney
Speers’ toxic, we can hear artifacts of the style in the song. But I think it
also borrows from a similar sequence in Tarantino’s Kill Bill, where the bride
heads to her battle on a motorcycle, as the villain and her goons waltz into
the bar. The track playing in the background has been borrowed from for Fast
Times.
The vibes of the concrete jungle and the fast life flow from
this track.
Rating: 9.5/10
10 – Skinny Dipping
Strumming and bird noises commence the first single of the
album. Carpenter speaks sings, reminiscent of 2000s teen pop rock. Drums and
pads are added with huge reverb to build into the chorus. The chorus has a firmness
and decisiveness to it with its simple chords, backed by earthy guitar. The
second verse contains a cello and a wide drum backing. The bridge has vocal
licks with trumpets in the background giving a hyper positive vibe. The
trumpets return later on with such mellow softness its hard not to smile.
It’s a nice song, but arguably a little out of place for the
album
Rating: 5.5/10
11 – Bad for Business
Woah reverb! The vocals are in stark contrast to the “nice
guitar”. But this is short lived, as Carpenter starts singing to a more basic drumbeat,
with minor pads. The chorus has a bit more wistful energy in the backing vocals
over the simple bassline. I like the minor IV use at the end of the chord
progression, it gives a tragic tinge, “sad but true” much. The story of the
song may be a veiled critique of capitalism, where inefficiencies and miseries
are left in, purposely to keep profits up.
This could have had less reverb.
Rating: 6/10
12 – decode
The album closer begins with a vibey guitar overlayed with Carpenter’s
breathy vocals. She is joined by a vibraphone before a heart punching bass
joins. It has aspects of an acoustic bass, but it sounds synthetic. The “gaps
in the silence” are marked by the music ironically only draw attention to the
constant beat of the song, reflecting how she is being “kept up at night”. The
second chorus has a fantastic open sound with strings providing a majestic tone.
The bridge highlights the difficulty that Carpenter has decoding his messages.
In a way the song serves as a reminder that music theory bro’s such as me maybe
shouldn’t be decoding everything. Lol no.
Heartfelt and touching, this song is a winner.
Rating: 8/10
Final Thoughts
This album is a hit, but it suffers a bit from being a little
derivative of the trends. It also suffers from a bit of excess production in
bits. I appreciate the throwbacks to the 2000’s era, it signifies that
noughties nostalgia is here. The album has great tracks, but also some not-so-great
tracks, a bit of a mixed bag.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
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