Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" Is Addictive

At every turn, "Espresso" is elastic. It's one last gasp of air from pop's disco revival that's outlived many a micro-trend, boasting sticky synth licks, sparse beachy guitars and wordplay — sensical and otherwise — that lounges like it has no other job.

Of course, that lyrical star is the passive "I'm working late / 'Cause I'm a singer." Carpenter phrases it slowly, slightly annoyed that it wasn't abundantly clear before. The line's detached glamour is what makes it burrow into seemingly everyone's dissociative thoughts, as it emerges from a mall-wave pool of one-liners.

The only crash from this limerant caffeine high is how short "Espresso" was pulled. Though a gem of vertical video strategy, a bombastic bridge with room for some more of Carpenter's R&B-tinged vocal runs would've helped. Either way, its timelessness has revealed itself in a matter of short weeks, and for that, she's conquered the algorithm against all odds.