Album Review: emails i can’t send // Sabrina Carpenter

After a three-year hiatus, Sabrina Carpenter finally hit the send button on her highly-anticipated fifth studio album, emails i can’t send.

As suggested by the American singer-songwriter herself, the 13-track record is her most personal project yet. It invites the listener to take a ride on an emotional roller-coaster, exploring the inner corners of Carpenter’s mind; whereas her previous records Eyes Wide Open, EVOLution, and the two-act Singular exude innocence, self-reliance, and confidence with the occasional melancholic track in-between, emails i can’t open contains grit that simply can’t be matched. It’s a story of Carpenter’s perseverance and a much-needed step towards reclaiming her narrative.

The title track is arguably Carpenter’s best-written album opener to date. “There’s no us in us when I’m lackin’ trust / You wanna discuss, ugh, you disgust me,” she sings from the perspective of a daughter who finds out about her father’s affair; she also elaborates on how such infidelity has negatively impacted her own perception of relationships. In less than two minutes, the song packs a punch that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album: raw, multifaceted, and self-reflective.

With the help of fading out piano melodies and a reference to the 1975 musical Chicago, the song smoothly transitions into one of the album’s singles, ‘Vicious’, where Carpenter continues to explore a failed relationship. However, this time it’s her own, which explains the song’s somewhat heated and intense approach (and the sudden 86-to-130 BPM change between the first two tracks).

The album’s third track, ‘Read your Mind’, is almost like a farewell to the dwindling Singular era. It’s upbeat. It’s sassy. It’s got gorgeous vocal layering that Carpenter is known for. But it’ll probably be the only track for the foreseeable future to remind her listeners of the previous project. Even though it contains a fragment of whom Carpenter used to be musically, it also offers a glimpse of what’s yet to come.

The next track, ‘Tornado Warnings’, confirms that. In a rather poetic take on lyricism, Carpenter ignores her significant other’s red flags and then tries to convince herself that she doesn’t… essentially lying to herself, her audience, and the therapist she sings about. Quite ironically, she’s aware of that.

Some things don’t need explanation. And that’s exactly the case with ‘because i liked a boy’, the record’s most straightforward offering lyrically; a sincere narration of the 23-year-old Carpenter’s efforts to navigate public scrutiny. It effortlessly pulls at one’s heartstrings, leaving no room for interpretation, especially when it comes to the song’s double-bridge. And rightfully so, for it’s solely her story to tell.

‘Already Over’ and ‘how many things’ mark the end of the record’s first half. One vastly different from another, they testify to love’s miscellaneous nature. The former of the two contains some of Carpenter’s most paradoxical lyricism yet, with underlying Dolly Parton and Kacey Musgraves influences; “I say I’m done, but I’m still confused / How am I supposed to close the door when I still need the closure?” Carpenter wonders, describing the fragility of a relationship that should’ve ended long ago. The latter, on the other hand, portrays an extremely vulnerable side of her as she opens up about feeling worthless in the eyes of her former lover.

The second half of emails i can’t send swaps the reflective melancholy for playfulness and hopeful nostalgia. The seventh track, ‘bet u wanna’, is certainly one of the project’s biggest standouts, bringing back the bold and daring side of Carpenter’s sound. And this resurfaced confidence bleeds right into the following track, ‘Nonsense’, with sexual innuendos, catchy soundscapes, and raspy-to-silky smooth vocals that attest to the singer’s extreme versatility.

The album’s sentimental lead single and its infectious successor ⁠— ‘skinny dipping’ and ‘Fast Times’ ⁠— further investigate the aftermath of a relationship. In yet another experimental approach to music, Carpenter abandons all formulas and leans into spoken word for ‘skinny dipping’, taking a detour from the radio-friendly songwriting; as confirmed by the artist herself, the single’s oddly-specific verses resemble an awkward encounter with an ex-partner, which further adds to the project’s conceptual undertone. Both of the singles feature instrumental bridges with laid-back, euphonious melodies perfect for the lounge (just like the rest of the album).

Despite the fairly cheerful production, ‘Bad for Business’ embodies one of the most dangerous aspects of love: fixation. “He’s good for my heart but he’s bad for business / Tears me apart when he grants my wishes,” Carpenter sings carelessly, while the song’s lyrics gradually unfold as acceptance of uncontrollably flying into the face of danger. Similarly to ‘Already Over’, this song also seems to be influenced by country music and allows Carpenter to test out brand-new waters, which she does successfully.

Ultimately, the album’s final track, ‘decode’, is a sombre but hopeful conclusion to the 39-minute long record. And this is where Carpenter shines as a songwriter; when she isn’t afraid of letting go and acknowledges the hurt she’s experienced. One of the most beautiful things about this track is how subtly Carpenter takes the base of the first half and then turns it around in the second, giving the story a new allegory; from “I’m so tired / Reread every single undertone” to “I’m so tired / Unpacked every single word you wrote.” Amongst the subtle lyrical changes and heartwarming ambience produced by string instruments, the track ends with an audio clip of two individuals laughing right after Carpenter insists on recording their past selves for the future ahead, without a single clue of what awaits there. And through such an indefinite send-off, emails i can’t send isn’t just a draft anymore. It’s now an open letter to those who are ready to read it, embrace it, and live through it.

Although this is Sabrina Carpenter’s fifth studio album, it could be referred to as her actual debut. It takes on the role of reintroducing the singer to the world, and it does it in the most genuine way possible. It doesn’t sweep hurt under the rug and, in fact, welcomes the cathartic cleanse that can seem like the scariest thing sometimes.

Now, this is where Carpenter’s journey actually begins; 13 of her most personal stories have been sent. Only one question remains: are you ready to press the send button yourself?

Words by Agnius Kazlauskas

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