Like Sabrina Carpenter? Try These Records

With charming synth flourishes and a dangerously groovy low end, Italo-Disco pioneers La Bionda are a perfect stepping stone for more adventurous pop fans. The duo’s sixth album, I Wanna Be Your Lover, is full of instrumentals that Carpenter would fit fabulously over with their disco rhythm sections. The titular track is the clear standout, but La Bionda is no one-hit-wonder. Journey through the rest of the record, and you’ll find a solid collection of tracks filled with the same charisma Carpenter exudes. 

This one’s all about the guitar. Many of Carpenter’s recent songs feature ‘70s-style funk rhythm guitar patterns. Nile Rodgers, guitarist of Chic, is the master of said patterns. Best known for tracks like “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories single “Get Lucky,” Rodger’s work is must-listen material for any fans of Carpenter’s six-string stylings. For starters, though, the 1978 release C’est Chic is a solid introduction. 

SZA‘s chokehold on contemporary R&B isn’t unwarranted. In her early years, the singer was perhaps best known as a featured artist, showing up on tracks with D.R.A.M., Schoolboy Q, and Kendrick Lamar. That changed with her second album, Ctrl, in 2017 and continued on her 2023 record, SOS. 

SZA has a silky voice that slithers around complicated vocal runs with ease. On top of that, she’s a master storyteller, often dealing out songs of heartbreak, love, and jealousy. When comparing the two artists, there’s an overlap in some of Carpenter’s older instrumentals and vocal melodies. For instance, the vocal line on Carpenters’s 2022 track “Nonsense,” from her record Emails I Can’t Send, wouldn’t be out of place on Ctrl. For fans of the Carpenter’s more R&B-influenced songs, look no further. 

The Japanese singer Miki Matsubara first gained significant traction outside Japan following the world’s renewed interest in city pop during the mid-2010s. The genre is known for breezy pop, disco, and funk sounds from 1970s and 80s Japan, created for the burgeoning urban leisure class. At 19 years old, she wrote “真夜中のドア/Stay With Me,” a track so enjoyable that it has since become one of the genre’s most-known songs.

Like Carpenter, Matsubara has a soprano vocal range and takes elements from similar genres, notably disco and funk. As part of the city pop genre, there is also an innate summery feel to her music. “真夜中のドア/Stay With Me” is an ideal starting place for new listeners, but her debut record, Pocket Park, is a hook-filled expansion that shows the then-young star’s pop writing prowess. 

Carpenter’s music pairs perfectly with summer: the sultry sound, mid-tempo backbeats, and sugary choruses. Similarly, city pop is readymade for the hotter months. This compilation by Light in the Attic brings many of the genre’s staples into a single, pool-ready release.

While there are no slouchs on the tracklist, highlights include Haruomi Hosono‘s “Sports Men,” Shigeru Suzuki‘s “LADY PINK PANTHER,” and Yasuko Agawa‘s “L.A. NIGHT.” Non-Japanese speakers shouldn’t be off-put by a lack of lyrical understanding. With clean, tight instrumentation and timeless vocal melodies, there’s something here for any pop fan. 

Blood Orange is the R&B moniker of multi-instrumentalist Devonté Hynes. In the mid-2010s, Hynes created several albums that earned critical and commercial acclaim thanks to their warm sound, sensual vibes, and willingness to play with a sonic palette.

The 2013 album Cupid Deluxe is Hynes at his best. The record’s basslines are similar to those Carpenter employs, and the array of sounds and genres may attract long-term Carpenter fans, who have seen the artist toy with everything from boogie to trap instrumentals. 

Standouts here are the smokey intro, “Chamkay,” and the immediate ‘70s-feeling follow-up, “Never Good Enough.” The whole record, along with Blood Orange’s next two records, Freetown Sound and Negro Swan, is full of excellence and worth adding to any record collection, though.

Far from the pop stage, Lord Huron’s folk-rock songs earn a place here not for any stylistic similarities to Carpenter but for her admiration for the band. On her “Favorites” Spotify playlist, she included Huron’s track from his 2018 album, Vide Noir, “When the Night is Over,” along with other surprises like John Cale, Wings, and more.

Where Huron differs in style from Carpenter, the band possesses a similar skill in his ability to write earworm vocal melodies and deliver memorable hooks. When the night winds down or the crisp fall air nears, Lord Huron’s sound is a welcome reprieve.

Best known for “Genius of Love,” this Talking Heads offshoot brings a similar level of synth whimsy throughout their work as Carpenter does in the beginning of “Please, Please, Please.” Additionally, many of Tom Tom Club’s songs feature those same funk guitar rhythms, and the drums are equally punchy.

Beyond “Genius of Love,” listeners can expect elements of reggae, dub, and synth-pop, which makes for a varied sound from track to track. While decidedly less pop and more New Wave, the group’s bright, catchy tunes will hold anyone’s attention.