Fellow Sabrina Carpenter fans, the deluxe version of “emails i can’t send” is here! This new version, “emails i can’t send fwd:,” features four new songs: “opposite,” “Feather,” “Lonesome” and “things i wish you said.” I’ve been listening to them ever since they came out, and here are my thoughts!
“opposite”
This song reveals the complicated feelings of when you see your ex moving on. It’s already tough to see them move on, but seeing that they’re happy with someone who is the complete opposite of you? She even sings how she tries to “take it as a compliment/it’s kinda feeling like the opposite.” It helps her see that it doesn’t matter if she tried to change how she was for him, nor should she have had to change for him. He was “holdin’ out to find the opposite.” But it does leave these doubts about whether or not he lied to her when they were together. If she wasn’t what he was looking for, then how did he really think of her? Carpenter takes all these feelings and creates an emotionally vulnerable song, softly singing about the thoughts crossing her mind when she sees her ex with his new girlfriend.
“Feather”
Sabrina Carpenter will always know how to create the next pop hit. You might have heard of “Nonsense,” which has been gaining a lot of popularity recently. Well, now Carpenter has released a new pop song that I wouldn’t be surprised to see gain “Nonsense” level popularity. Whereas “Nonsense” was about the fun, happy feeling of having a crush, “Feather” is about finally cutting off that person who kept giving you mixed signals and was definitely not right for you. It’s about rejoicing over finally feeling “so much lighter/like a feather” now that they are gone. With an upbeat sound, and Carpenter evidently having fun singing it, this has the potential to be another popular hit. It’s about feeling free and lighter, and it definitely gives off that vibe. I’ve replayed it so many times already, and it’s definitely my favorite out of the four.
“Lonesome”
First off, I love how the song immediately starts with a Western vibe. I feel like this fits the title of the song really well. Even the first lyric hits different: “If I fall in love with all my problems/Will they leave me too?” It sets the tone for the song, which is about how she’s used to feeling left and alone. She sings about how “you can’t spell lonesome without me” and also reveals how even when this person was with her, it was like they were somewhere else. It definitely captures the quiet frustration of being left and your partner not treating you right.
“things i wish you said”
This song closes the album, and I can’t think of a better song to do it. She sings about everything she wishes her ex had said to her when they were together. You can hear the hurt in her voice as she thinks about “these things at night before I fall asleep.” All these thoughts continue to plague her mind, and she says she’s wasting her time thinking about it, but as she sings about these things, you can’t help but wish she had gotten that. While this song does close the album, it actually reveals how much closure she never got to have, but that she deserves.
The album is centered around the idea of pouring all your ideas and feelings into emails that you never want anyone to read. These new songs fit the theme as we continue to see more of Carpenter’s vulnerable side and hear how she processes everything she is feeling. I highly recommend checking out her new songs!