This post was updated Aug. 31 at 7:48 p.m.

In a summer short on compelling album releases, “Man’s Best Friend” falls far short of being Sabrina Carpenter’s best album.

The singer-songwriter’s seventh studio album was released Friday, arriving just over a year after her chart-topping record “Short n’ Sweet.” A concise set of a dozen tracks, like its Grammy-winning predecessor, “Man’s Best Friend” continues Carpenter’s collaborations with the songwriting team of Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen and John Ryan. Fans of Carpenter’s 2024 number-one single “Please Please Please” ought to be pleased by the new record’s frequent dalliances into country-leaning pop, but the 38-minute LP’s replay value suffers acutely due to the glaring lack of vivacity and pitch-perfect humor that catapulted Carpenter to superstar status.

Opening track and lead single “Manchild” encapsulates both the strengths and weaknesses of its parent album, introducing the country-forward guitars the tracklist is built upon while failing to recapture the catchiness of “Short n’ Sweet” smashes like “Espresso” and “Taste.” Carpenter’s clever rhyming of “Amen” with “hey, men” on the song’s bridge is a highlight, as is the carefree playfulness of its chorus. But on the whole – even after topping the Billboard Hot 100 in June – “Manchild” does not present Carpenter’s pop hook proclivities at their full potential.

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The second track and second single, “Tears” – which received a music video on Friday featuring two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo – is a much better expression of Carpenter’s strengths. Contrary to its gloomy title, “Tears” is the most upbeat number on the entire LP, anchoring its production in a glossy disco soundscape while adopting a tempo on its verses that is reminiscent of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation.” Carpenter’s lyrics are as raunchy as ever when she coyly sings “Tears run down my thighs,” and the swirling ditty is over all too quickly.

But where “Tears” eschews woeful sadness for well-executed silliness, a great deal of “Man’s Best Friend” falls into breakup territory with an overabundance of melancholic laments and downtempo numbers. The monotony of painfully plodding tunes such as “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” and “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” drags down any sense of momentum or cohesion. Worst of all is the flavorless album closer “Goodbye,” which commits the cardinal pop music sin of being wholly forgettable in both its melody and lyrics.

Even the songs most blatantly about sex lack the wittiness and smooth production of Carpenter’s past successes, such as “Nonsense” and “Bed Chem.” The slinky but repetitive “When Did You Get Hot?” tries to strike a balance between Ariana Grande and Tate McRae but falls short of its potential. More misguided is the Paula Abdul-esque pop of “House Tour,” which is packed with cringe-inducing come-ons such as “I just want you to come inside (Come inside) / But never enter through the back door.” A well-timed sexual innuendo has become a fundamental attribute of Carpenter’s brand and a critical ingredient in her best work, but the disappointingly blunt double entendres of “House Tour” are not handled with her usual deft lyricism.

Surprisingly, Carpenter’s attempts at weaving country into her songcraft are more effective than ever before. From a vocal standpoint, Carpenter shines best on the standout fourth track “Sugar Talking,” which almost sounds as if it could be an unearthed Carrie Underwood throwback, thanks to its prevalent percussion and guitar. Carpenter slides between passionate huskiness and a pleasing lilt as she sings “Put your loving where your mouth is / Your sugar talking isn’t working tonight.” The jukebox-ready jam of “Go Go Juice” – which appears to reference ex-boyfriend Barry Keoghan – is similarly strengthened by the use of banjo and fiddle.

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Even with glimmers of energy and charisma from “Tears,” “Sugar Talking” and “Go Go Juice,” it is a bit baffling how bland Carpenter’s new material is after months of online chatter and anticipation. Even after countless think pieces over the past two months dissecting her public image and assessing the implications of the provocative album cover, “Man’s Best Friend” does not deliver upon a unifying theme, nor does it make any effort to illustrate a fresh perspective on female sexuality. The defining flavor of Carpenter’s new batch of pop music is akin to that of store-bought cornbread – dry and underbaked, packaged as a hollow product while missing the richness and bite of a more creative and original offering.

Of course, it is unfair to compare the project directly to “Short n’ Sweet” – even that record is far from perfect, and the lightning-in-a-bottle radiance of such a juggernaut often strikes an artist’s career only once. Regardless, Carpenter’s future as a hitmaker and as a contender in top Grammy categories could be jeopardized by the regression that “Man’s Best Friend” signals for her lyricism and production styles. Carpenter and her all-star team of collaborators are more than capable of concocting superior music to this underwhelming set.

Rather than becoming listeners’ new playlist pal, “Man’s Best Friend” would be better off left as an acquaintance for the random library shuffle.