By Antonio Machado Staff Writer After the general public caught a whiff of her “Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter got to work on finding the secret formula on how to become the next It Girl - and the recipe was titled “Short n’ Sweet.” Although the singer has been in the public eye since her Disney days, it wasn’t until the tongue-in-cheekness of her hit single “Nonsense” and its improvised outros that people began to realize her star power. Released Aug. 23, “Short n’ Sweet” served as Carpenter’s sixth studio album and a much-needed break from the current self-serious state of pop music. Authenticity is so incredibly striven for in the contemporary pop world, and Carpenter is so authentically funny. Originally a fun surprise to celebrate her performance at Coachella, “Espresso” became the song of the summer. Its pseudo-disco is accompanied by silly, nonsensical lyrics that serve to create a perfectly infectious track that’s too sweet to possibly put down. The album is exactly as it was named - short. Sitting at 36 minutes, the record’s 12 tracks humorously sift between Carpenter’s relationship issues and successes, and though there are a few more serious moments, the highlights of the album are its humor. Jack Antonoff’s nostalgic synth arpeggios on “Please Please Please” would normally cause the track to fade into the background, but Carpenter’s comedic pleas to her partner to not embarrass her have an indescribable allure. The bitter campfire guitar strumming of “Coincidence” evokes an early Joni Mitchell. She laughs and bats her eyelashes as she details her partner leaving her to return to his own ex, an incredibly palpable irony that makes this a standout track. The R&B-Pop-infused track “Bed Chem” features a platter of steamy lyrical content with a side of Ariana Grande-esque falsettos as she jokingly details sexual innuendos. The Freudian slip of “Come right on me / I mean camaraderie” only works due to the zany charm of her delivery. The Dolly Parton country acoustics of “Slim Pickins” feature some of the silliest moments of the album. She jokingly complains about her difficulty finding “a boy who’s jacked and kind” and that “the Lord forgot [her] gay awakening” with the subtlest sprinkle of a southern twang. Referencing the 2007 movie, “Juno” is a track that can only be described as “so f**king horny.” Popularized by the various positions Carpenter has imitated while performing the song on tour, the track’s unhinged sexuality is concealed by the groovy summer pop sound and excited vocal delivery. The album as a whole, however, doesn’t ride the humorous high note all the way through. Slower tracks that focus more on vulnerability, while sometimes good, are unneeded flavors in the record. The Taylor Swift-isms of “Dumb & Poetic” feel out of place and lifeless when placed between the upbeat charm of “Espresso” and “Slim Pickins.” The anadiplosis of “Sharpest Tool” serves for an interesting pre-chorus, but the track quickly fades into the background of its much more interesting successors. It sounds like something that could’ve been found on Carpenter’s previous album, “emails i can’t send,” but lacking the intimacy that made the record successful. Contrastingly, “Lie To Girls” is a beautiful ballad that could similarly find a home in Carpenter’s previous record, but it finds a life of its own within “Short n’ Sweet” with its self-deprecating humor. “Short n’ Sweet” is a demonstration on how pop can be entertaining and fun and a much needed break from the melancholic synths infesting the genre. However, the record is nothing revolutionary or new to pop. Every track could easily belong to another artist who came before her, and though they all possess a bit of that Carpenter charm, it is not charming enough to save the record. The record is, however, charming enough to guarantee Carpenter a career that will be long n’ tasteful, and I am prepared to savor every bite. Rating: C+ Oh she left quite an impression