Album review: Violet Grohl – Be Sweet To Me

Violet Grohl oozes cool girl, and yet has an aura of ‘no biggie’ about herself. There’s a lot of pressure to live up to with that surname of hers, and thus a lot of expectation to match on her debut record. On Be Sweet To Me, she calmly shrugs off the weight. No biggie.

It's an album that wears a dainty dress and pairs it with combat boots. It’s a Newton’s cradle that smashes between the slow and spacey, to the sludgy and thick. The result is an album with a lot of enjoyable dichotomy, and boy does it sound like it’s from the ’90s. Opener THUM is a romantic, dizzying experience. Inspired by the bitterness of anti-nail-biting polish, it sets a fuzzy tone that remains a constant across the whole album. There’s a warmth all over its sound, especially the guitar work, and when listening closely, there’s even an analogue hiss or a crackle here and there.

This rustic character and the playful dynamics are a conscious choice. Recorded between late 2024 and early 2025, mid-way through the making of this album, Violet’s energy shifted. She wanted grunge, fuzz, and heaviness to meet her mood. Mobile Star kicks off an utterly crazy run of this exact sonic whiplash. A grainy, spaced-out lullaby, Often Others follows up like a glorious slap across the kisser. This double kick drumming tornado is sandwiched among another smooth, reverbed dream on Applefish. In this sense, acoustic ballad Plastic Couch becomes the perfect conclusion, swelling into a vast outro like a score for rolling end credits.

There’s a certain mystique to Violet Grohl. Her lyrics may lean into the world of film, the paranormal, and nail varnish packaging, but they also feel confessional. When combed through deeply enough, they unravel tales of late adolescence, love, and carving your own path. In her storytelling, she’s never obvious, never two-dimensional. Violet Grohl being somewhat of a question mark is her magic. It’s the way of the cool girl.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Kim Gordon, The Breeders, Garbage

Be Sweet To Me is released on May 29 via Auroura