Sabrina Carpenter – "Man's Best Friend"
Sabrina is back after a bit more than a year, only to sound even more horny, but also more creative.
After her breakout album "Short 'n' Sweet" from last year, Sabrina has found herself in a massive spotlight for the first time in her career. Many people started calling her an industry plant, but that is absolutely not the case. Even if you dislike her music, you have to respect her grind. She has been in the music scene for a long time and this is, believe it or not, her 7th full-length studio album.
You get exactly what you expect from this record. It's 38 minutes long, but is filled with 12 songs, making the experience of listening harder. Especially when you have songs such as "Manchild", "When Did You Get Hot?" and "My Man on Willpower". Those three tracks are the worst out of the dozen that are on this LP. If I had to choose the worst one, it would for sure be "When Did You Get Hot?". It sounds like a 10-year-old Ariana Grande track.
This album does have highlights though. I really like the direction Sabrina took songs such as "Sugar Talking", "We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night" and "Don't Worry, I'll Make You Worry". Each of those three songs stands out with their unique instrumentals, great progressions and her well-thought-out lyrics, proving to us that she is actually capable of much more than just collecting male gazes.
Overall score: 65/100
Hayley Williams – "Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party"
It's like eating food with actual taste after listening to Sabrina's album.
Hayley Williams is an artist that does not need any introduction. She has been active for the last 20 years, and with her amazing way of thinking, she remains at the top of musicians that came out during the 2000s pop-punk scene. She always finds a way to remain relevant, without being pushy, but simple with her artistry.
This record had an appetizer that came out a month prior, "EGO" which was a 17-track-long compilation. Well, if you listened to it, then you also listened to this project too. It has been a pretty confusing rollout, but it's great to put a cover on a record at least. Best songs are "Mirtazapine", "Hard", "True Believer" and "I Won't Quit On You".
Overall score: 80/100
Nova Twins – "Parasites & Butterflies"
Cover is the best part of this album.
I heard about Nova Twins back in 2020, when they collaborated with BMTH on a track called "1X1". It was a banger, so I listened to their other projects. I was impressed by "Who Are The Girls", tracks off that album such as "Lose Your Head", "Taxi" and "Play Fair" aged pretty well.
However, I eventually stopped following them, I even had no idea that they released an album in 2022. Hearing them for the first time in about 5 years was interesting. It feels like they didn't evolve at all. They still do the same sound they did 5 years ago. Every track on this album is fine, but I wanted, and expected, to hear a huge jump. Sadly, it did not happen.
Overall score: 45/100