‘Be Sweet To Me’ — Violet Grohl — Album review

When the chance comes up to review Dave Grohl’s daughter’s debut album*, you jump at it. And you answer the record title’s plea to pen some very kind words about it, upon hearing how utterly fantastic it is. Although it’s not a given that talent always runs in the family, wow — Violet Grohl, take a bow. It certainly means that in this case, in spades. ‘Be Sweet To Me’ is supremely stellar, and making me want to pick my guitar back up immediately…

Of the tracklisting, four tunes that feature were already out. They each deliver punchy, modern rock in abundance, while some indie sensibilities streak concurrently through the grungy elements. What else would you expect from someone who’s grown up in the presence of greatness? The same blood created a wealth of iconic anthems under the Nirvana and Foo Fighters monickers, after all.

‘THUM’ and ‘595’ begin the record, and, aside from two closing songs that follow later, ‘Applefish’ and ‘Cool Buzz’ virtually bookend it all. So the middle section seems to have, perhaps, been deliberately left so that the unreleased offerings could knock our socks off. And my gosh, they’re on the floor.

Most tracks hit the two-to-three-minute mark, so they’re primed for playlisting opps. Pacy ‘THUM’ kicks it all off. For those who were clued up on Violet’s catalogue so far, this banger is sheer rock through and through, but it’s her vocal range that stands out. On one hand, she can dip into tones as sugary as honeydew melon. On the other, she can go deeper and lower for that darker, moodier effect.

Then, almost like a Sheryl Crow-Nirvana hybrid, ‘595’ is an addictive, country-rock-tinged earworm that’ll have you coming back for more and more. Similar could be said of ‘Bug In The Cake’, actually, which harbours this riotous speed that gives it a real summer-ready edge. ‘American roadtrip’ might as well be etched all over it yet, lyrically, it recalls paranormal activities experienced when Violet moved into her late grandma’s home.

Dare I share that ‘Big Memory’ gave me Feeder feels with its opening drumming? It did then descend into a shoegazy grunge that had me wanting to belt out the catchy hooks to within milliseconds. Not something my neighbours would favour… The shift of pace that comes after on ‘Mobile Star’ is where the softness and subtleties of her voice steal the show even more so than they have before. Otherworldly, extraterrestrial-sounding instrumentals slowly stab in the background, and you’re left with a swelling eeriness.

The scuzziest, fuzziest offering is ‘Often Others’. Metal fan? Get your ears around this! It’s wickedly delectable for the opposite reasons to the rest of the songs, yet it oozes brilliance of an equal measure. More Alice in Chains in influence than maybe, Pixies, if you will. The skateboardy angst of ‘Cool Buzz’ is palpable and, while it landed prior to the album, it’s up there as another winner for me.

Things take a slightly more acoustic route after this point, and that tendency flows right into the finale, ‘Plastic Couch’. Note the familiarity and tenderness, and how it nicely offsets the majority of the much heavier songs. There’s a serious grunge factor after the break, too, where I can only imagine she and her band would snap into some wild shredding as and when on stage. Again, this is Violet demonstrating casually that she’s got a solid style but a breadth to her niche. Plus, at the core of it all is a rawness that she not only harnesses but utterly nails.

The festival circuit yearns for someone like Violet Grohl; she’s completely herself, without the modern-day pop shackles to shake off. She comes with legendary pedigree rooted in her surname, but she’s also earned it and then some. Leeds and Reading await.

This album’s energy has massively spoken to me, so I’m looking forward to grabbing a metaphorical knife and fork and tucking into it even more thoroughly over the summer.