This latest album from Sabrina brought us a lot of different, unexpected sounds from Sabrina, and arguably was the most vulnerable album she's released to date. I can't say I like the cover all that much (it's just kind of boring), but there were quite a few standout tracks on here for me, particularly "Emails I Can't Send,""Read Your Mind," "Nonsense," and "Fast Times." While there were some songs I liked more than others, I wouldn't really say there were any songs that are duds, which is a first for me for Sabrina albums, because there's always at least one I don't really like. I was really pleasantly surprised with how open Sabrina was here. Previously, Sabrina was best-known for empowering bops like "Sue Me" and "Bad Time," but she's sending a great message here by demonstrating that sometimes the deepest level of empowerment is being okay with your own vulnerability.
It's hard to believe we got the first song from this album nearly a year ago now. "Emails I Can't Send" is truly a cornerstone of the vulnerability we get from this album. In the song, she sings about her father cheating on her mother with another woman, lamenting about how this has made her feel insecure in her relationships. Sabrina really opens up here about how her father's actions have made her fearful, which causes her to villainize guys in her head out of insecurity. The lyric "reading their texts like they're having sex right now" particularly paints a vivid image of how intense the jealousy and fear is for Sabrina. The line that really stands out to me is the off-key "please f***ing fix this." It is not necessarily the lyric itself that is powerful here, it's the fact that it's so off-key. This gives it a feeling of emotional messiness and a complete lack of control, almost as if she has feeling of raw need boiling up inside of her. It's so intensely vulnerable that it's hard for me to listen to this without tearing up a little bit. This must have been such a hard track for Sabrina to share, but I commend her for doing it.
To me, "Vicious" is Sabrina's version of "Happier Than Ever." I'm going to be upfront, I am not a fan of that talk-singing style that is a part of many songs that Julia Michaels writes. It's the main reason I can't even listen to Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar" without cringing, because it sounds so disorganized and chaotic. Thus, the verses of this were not particularly enjoyable to me, and they came off as a bit generic. It didn't feel authentic to Sabrina knowing that this style is often copy-pasted across many Julia Michaels-written songs. However, the chorus is somewhat catchy and redeems the song a bit. The sudden change in production around the second verse is where I really start enjoying the song, because this is where it feels the song breaks out of the mold of the generic breakup song, and moves into something exciting through the build-up of the production. Unfortunately, there are only 45 seconds left of the song at that point, which makes the song not particularly memorable. I think I would have liked this one a lot better if the whole song was more like those last 45 seconds. Granted, I don't hate this one, but it's not one I'd return to often and I don't think this was the song that should have been released as a promotional single.
Okay, this is the one that should have been released as the single. "Read Your Mind" is such a bop! It harkens back to the Singular Act I days with its upbeat dance-pop production, and keeps that same tone of empowerment that was present all throughout that album. As of writing this review the day after the album was released, I've already listened to this five times, and I'm sure I'll listen to this at least once more before the weekend is over. This is the sound I most like from Sabrina, and is the direction I'd say I most want her to go in.
However, in transitioning over to "Tornado Warnings," this is also a sound I value from her. Songs like "Run and Hide" and "Shadows" from EVOLution demonstrate that Sabrina has released dark songs before, but this song feels dark in a different way. The raw need of Sabrina shouting "I wanna, I wanna be loved!" in "Run and Hide" is heart-wrenchingly vulnerable, as is Sabrina acknowledges the dark side of her love interest in "Shadows." However, the extreme specificity of the situation highlighted in "Tornado Warnings" brings a whole different kind of vulnerability to the table. Interestingly, Sabrina shared in a Rolling Stone interview that this song was written both literally and metaphorically...that is to say, Sabrina was actually thinking about a situation where she was on a seesaw in a park with someone she should not have been with. When it started hailing in this park, she admitted to ignoring a tornado alert on her phone because she was so in love, and wanted nothing but to be with this person in this moment. This physical situation Sabrina found herself in translated into the metaphorical interpretation presented in the song. Sabrina confesses that this person essentially made her mental health as chaotic as a tornado, and that she ignored the red flags saying she shouldn't be with the person. In the chorus, she admits to lying to her therapist, saying "Somehow in my mind if I could convince him, if he doesn't see it, then maybe it doesn't exist." This line seems to hint that Sabrina is compartmentalizing this relationship, where she believes it is not a part of her if others don't know about it. Throughout the song, the listener gets a sense that Sabrina is spiraling into escapism, because she keeps turning to this relationship despite that she knows deep in her heart it's bad for her. Sabrina paints such a vivid picture here that it essentially is letting the listener see into her mentally unhealthy psyche. This is a whole new level of vulnerability that we've never seen from Sabrina before, and the depth of the feelings Sabrina shares with the listener makes this song feel incredibly dark in a completely different league from anything else she's released. As sort of an unrelated side note, I find it odd that this song got marked as explicit for her inclusion of the phrase "son of a bitch," yet "I Can't Stop Me" doesn't get marked as explicit at all despite a certain p-word that Saweetie uses in her verse.
And speaking of vulnerability...one of the most frustrating things about the whole "Skin" debacle was that in interviews, Sabrina often would respond to the Joshua/Olivia love triangle with remarks that were so vague, she may as well just refrained from saying anything. Enter "Because I Liked a Boy." This is the most direct response Sabrina has had to the situation, and I really liked what she had to say here. It is not a petty, unnecessary cry for attention like "Skin" is, where she made it about blaming others and creating drama. This is a really genuine, honest revelation about how the situation tanked her mental health, and the harm behind the online backlash. In the song, she details about how she was called a "homewrecker," a "slut" and sent death threats for supposedly stealing Olivia's boyfriend. The lyric "tell me who I am, guess I don't have a choice" highlights not only how people were treating Sabrina in this situation, but it's a commentary of how the media likes to demonize people in general, where the voices against them are so loud that they can't possibly respond back without there being further backlash. In addition, the line "dating boys with exes, I wouldn't recommend it" is so simple, which it allows it to serve as a metaphor for how much people blew the situation out of proportion. Lastly, Sabrina's revelation that she and Joshua already broke up when "Drivers License" came out adds a new layer of sadness to the situation, because it gives us a whole new perspective on how Sabrina must have been feeling when all of this happened to her. She was being demonized over a relationship she was not even in anymore, which was incredibly difficult for her mental health. Although it must have been hard for Sabrina to share this song with the world, I think this is the best response she could have had to it. It corrects what "Skin" did wrong in the sense that it isn't pointing fingers or attacking others; it's an honest reflection where Sabrina simply says "this is how I feel." I also think waiting until the album came out was the right time for Sabrina to release this. Had she released this in place of "Skin," I think it could have been misinterpreted as asking for pity. It was better that she took the time to process the situation rather than responding immediately, even though it was hard. I was pretty hard on her for "Skin," as were other fans, but I can understand why she released it. "Emails I Can't Send" specifically mentions October 13, and if the Olivia/Joshua drama happened in January, Sabrina must have really been going through a lot at that time.
"Already Over" is a fun little bop, and remains relatable. It's not as intensely emotional as the previous two tracks, but I like how it divulges into the topic of being confused about your emotions, or if you're over a situation or not. The song talks about needing a sense of closure as well, which makes it quite relatable. What I took away from this song is that sometimes the only way we can get closure is if we create that closure by processing through our emotions, or at least this is the message I took away from the song. In a sense, this song fits with the running theme of vulnerability because rather than being beholden to your feelings another person, it's the emotions themselves that are holding you captive. Sabrina is saying that even she doesn't know what she wants. I also really like the production of this song; it stands out as quite unique to me. The chaotic production mixed with her vocals works really well for the tone this song was trying to create.
Let me just start by saying I love the whimsical way "How Many Things" starts. "You used a fork once, turns out forks are f***ing everywhere!" It's an authentically weird way to start the song, but it's a great attention-getter that pulls you into the song from the beginning. The rest of the song doesn't disappoint. It's not whimsical, but it is incredibly relatable. At some point in time, probably everyone has felt that someone they are in a relationship with - whether it's a platonic, romantic, family - does not appreciate them as much as they once did, despite that the feelings have remained the same on your end. This song is really heartbreaking in a different way than the other songs on this album, because it's the first one that directly deals with the idea of loss of another person. This idea of loss is a recurring theme on the album: loss of respect for her father in "Emails I Can't Send," loss of self in "Tornado Warnings," loss of control over what the public thinks of her in "Because I Liked a Boy," and loss of emotional control in "Already Over." Here, however, Sabrina is singing about realizing you are losing a person that you think the world of ("I feel myself falling further down your priorities"). The saddest part about this song is that the loss is multi-dimensional. Sabrina is worried that her love interest is emotionally losing interest in her, which she believes will eventually lead to a physical loss. Sabrina also sings about her fear of being vulnerable and admitting that she is actually losing the person, admitting "I still make excuses for you constantly." Moreover, all of us have wondered at one point or another may wonder if a person no longer in our life still thinks about us. Sabrina also displays a sense of emotional struggle in letting go herself, professing "I can't help it, it's a habit. Your corner in my mind is well established." It's a recurring theme at this point, but this song lyrically paints us a heartbreaking picture of what it feels like to deal with a loss that is completely out of your control.
"Bet U Wanna" know what I think of track number eight! I really like the interpolation of "Lovefool" by The Cardigans here. It sounds great and works so well with the tone of the song. This song almost feels like the opposite of vulnerability, as it centers around Sabrina taunting her former lover. Despite that her ex was the one who left her, she flips the script on him and says that he was the foolish one for dumping her. There are a lot of different interpretations you could have of this song, and ultimately, my interpretation involved a bit of reading between the lines. Loss of control is scary, because nobody wants to feel like they have no control over a situation. It's a lot easier to be the one in control, because control is a form of holding power over another person ("When you don't have control of who I'm holdin', is it feeding all your fears?). To me, this song has the dual message of describing the fear of what it feels like to lose control, and implying that the way to gain control over an uncontrollable situation is to find personal power in your own emotions.
"Nonsense" is definitely a standout track in not only this album, but Sabrina's entire discography. At the time of writing this, there's nothing quite like this song that she's put out yet. Besides the fact that this is the first time Sabrina's ever rapped, "Nonsense" has a sense of whimsy and playfulness to it that her other songs don't really have. It almost feels like she knows she is being a little ridiculous with some of the lyrics ("It feels so good I had to jump the octave"), but she's totally embracing it. It feels like we're seeing a bit of the old, quirky Sabrina here, which was nice because we don't see that version of her very much anymore. Arguably, this is Sabrina's most sexual song to date with the second verse (and "How quickly can you take your clothes off? Pop quiz") However, it was very polite of her to say "the opposite of soft" haha. We also have to talk about that "Woke up this morning, thought I'd write a pop hit" line. Girl, chill. You don't have a single pop hit yet, so stop acting like you're Lil Nas X lol.
I fell in love with "Fast Times" when it first came out in February, and even after hearing all the new songs, this is my second favorite track on the album. The production has such a dreamy, chill vibe to it, and it works so well with her voice. For me, this was the only one of the singles that felt like it should have been chosen to me. "Vicious" and "Skinny Dipping" were fine enough, but they didn't scream "single" like this one did. Even if those two had been sent to pop radio, I don't think they would have done particularly well, but I think this would have had a fighting chance if it received the right promotion. The message of this song is so relatable - so many people have felt at one time or another in their life that a certain moment went by too fast, or they wish they could do it over again. I love how free-spirited Sabrina sounds on this track. It really compliments the carefree message and production here, and it's definitely a standout track from the album.
"Skinny Dipping" hits different when you're listening to it on a Wednesday going to meet someone at a coffee shop (yes, I'm enough of a dork to have done this lol). This single never really stood out as much to me. Out of any of the songs with talk-singing on the album, this song incorporates it the most. I'm sure there are people out there that like this style, but to me, the talk-singing sounds awkward and off-key (and not in a good way like "Emails I Can't Send"). It's a factor that automatically brings a song down for me, because it's not particularly pleasant to listen to, in my opinion. I don't particularly hate this song, but this one is just there for me. It's not egregious or unlistenable, but there's not really anything memorable or good about it. I will say, I like the video. It definitely harkens back to the days of the days when Sabrina had a bit more of a quirky, cute vibe to her, and I still hold a fond place in my heart for that version of Sabrina.
It's surprising to think "Bad for Business" was originally going to be the first single in place of "Skinny Dipping"! In the music video for "Skin," a brochure has the title "Bad 4 Business" on it with the date April 23, 2021. Granted, nothing ever happened on this date, but given the title was kept, that makes me feel like this was originally going to be the first single. Although I just talked about how they could have picked a better single choice than "Skinny Dipping," ultimately, I am glad that they did not go with this one. While I do really like the song, I feel like releasing another Josh jam would have made Sabrina seem like a one-trick pony. I am glad she waited until now to release this, because it would have been, if you'll excuse the pun, bad for business. I like how she kept this song vague enough where it could be talking about her relationship with Joshua and the accompanying drama, but it could also be interpreted as being so consumed by a person you find it difficult to enjoy anybody else. Sabrina sings about her friends thinking she's crazy, but she doesn't care, because she's so in love. In expressing this sentiment, she uses very, attention-getting lyrics ("he's so nice, it's sad" and "you stole my life, and it's showing") to highlight how her entire life has been consumed by this person, which works really well here. The chill vibe of the instrumental with her airy vocals works super well, and really gets across the infatuation Sabrina was feeling. I do want to highlight one lyric that really stood out to be, and that's "If I'm just writing happy songs, will anybody sing along?" It feels like there's so much to break down here. That particular lyric feels almost unconnected from anything else in that verse, and there are so many different ways it could be interpreted. Does Sabrina feel that nobody likes her happier songs? If so, that's very sad she feels she can't write what she wants. You could also take it in the metaphorical direction of her feeling like being empowered in herself and happy isn't enough; in other words, she feels she needs to act differently to attract the attention of somebody else. Either way you interpret it, this is a pretty sad lyric. I do feel Sabrina kind of struggles with feeling she needs to "put on a show" for others, and not be vulnerable with other people. That's particularly been highlighted in recent interviews from the past year or so. In some of those early Zach Sang interviews, you can tell she's just authentically herself and it's great to see. One of the things I always admired about Sabrina is that she wasn't afraid to be a little quirky. Since the whole "Skin" debacle, she has seemed very guarded in a way that she never did before. It doesn't really feel like we're seeing the full Sabrina, and she'll often give very vague answers to interview questions, that are so vague she's basically not saying anything. It also seems like she feels she needs to act a certain way to be seen as "mature," given the Disney label that has been placed on her. Granted, given everything that's happened to her, between her father cheating on her mother and the public Olivia/Joshua drama, I can absolutely understand why she would need to be guarded around others. In a sense, this album is an incredible act of vulnerability, because she is sharing very personal experiences she had with the world. However, this is a different type of vulnerability than we've seen before. She's becoming more open to being vulnerable about her experiences, but it feels like we've taken a few steps backwards in terms of her being vulnerable in expressing her personality (which is perfectly understandable and okay, but it does make me a little sad sometimes).
Lastly, "Decode" is a very simple song expressing the very complicated concept of letting go. In the song, Sabrina finally comes to the realization about letting go, and that there is nothing left to save in a relationship. The instrumental is very simple, and you could argue it leaves more to be desired, but as I've processed this song more, I think it's perfect. The song is trying to express the concept that sometimes, you just need to let go of control and say "there's nothing I can do to make this healthy for me." In other words, Sabrina is attempting to fight against the desire her mind has to process through everything to the point of nausea, and the song takes you through her journey of realizing she needs to de-complicate all of these thoughts in her mind. A complicated instrumental wouldn't have really fit this song; it needed something simple to effectively convey this concept of "it doesn't have to be complicated, because your heart knows it's time to let go." While I didn't find this song very memorable at first, I've grown to like the sentiment of letting go that this album ends on. It ties the album together really well.
There's no doubt that this is Sabrina's deepest album to date. You can see the growth in her as an artist and as a person in every song on this album. Before, Sabrina made mostly empowering, upbeat bops, but you can see the realization she's had here that empowerment doesn't have to mean saying "I'm a bad bitch, I can handle everything!" Yes, it's a great sentiment, but sooner or later there's going to be a situation that comes up that you won't know how to handle right away, and that's okay. I'm glad Sabrina came to this realization, and you can really see this shift in her thinking represented in these songs. If I were to take a message away from this album, it's this idea that vulnerability can be very empowering. You can cover up your troubles all you want, but the only way you're really going to be empowered is by being emotionally intelligent and in tune with what you're feeling.
Is this my favorite Sabrina album? No, even though I do think it's the most vulnerable. Lyrically, it's the most vivid thing she's put out, but I would say sonically I still prefer the sound of her first three albums. Overall, I was really satisfied with this album, and while I would like to see her go more with the style of "Read Your Mind" and "Fast Times" in the future, I really appreciated this album for what it was and commend her for being so vulnerable in sharing these extremely personal experiences with us.
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