Album Review: Violet Grohl - 'Be Sweet To Me'
Growing up around the most pivotal influences in the industry, singer-songwriter Violet Grohl has taken it all as second nature while preparing to take to the airwaves herself. First giving a taste of her talents at the beginning of 2026, she is ready to release her debut record and show everything she has been working on in her young life: enter Be Sweet To Me.
Picking and threading sounds and styles from all around the musical spectrum, Grohl displays her internalisation of old-school punk in the opening track “THUM”. Letting the music speak more for itself than her vocals, it’s an exceptional introduction; allowing for punchy lyrics, screeching riffs, and a welcome to a journey of self-discovery and self-assurance. It is a fitting asset of the record and allows the steady flow into the follow-up “595”.
"595" is a sexy smooth vocal storm with a classic alternative rhythm; a short story with a deep intimate impact. Inspired by phone sex culture, it brings on a new-age level of confidence and sexual reassurance that's reminiscent of the evolution of feminism in the 1960s and 70s. Rock as a genre has been used in recent years to allow female artists to empower themselves through their sexuality and sensuality, and "595" is just a new episode in that ever-growing season. With a natural snarl in Grohl's voice and dominance in her self-penned sentences, it's a standout track for Be Sweet To Me. It doesn't just sell on sex, but sells on independence, autonomy, and high self-esteem.
Further within the record is the lo-fi tinted ballad of "Mobile Star". Inspired by the softness and cosy nature of 80s pop, this is a song that uses gentle ringing and background static to highlight the lullaby-like style of singing Grohl is presenting. A three-point-five-minute long tune that takes a break from the gritty guitars, thundering drums and injected venom in-between, and strips it back to what is one of the most heartstring-pulling, soul-snatching, tongue-tangling tracks that this young newcomer has brought onto her debut.
A debut record is one of the toughest releases an act can bring out, as it's the first full opportunity to seize all on one's own and have a choice of tracks to fill it to give a first impression of who they are, what they are all about, and what they wish to bring to an always-evolving ever-creating industry that will make them stand out among the rest. Be Sweet To Me was Violet Grohl's introduction to the wider audience of the music world, and with the variety she has brought to it, she has made it clear what she is after and what she wants to tell everyone. She is headstrong yet in tune with her thoughts and emotions; someone who can break the walls down but build defence if she needs; someone who has seen so much in such a short life, and has rolled with every punch so far to make it to this point.
Seeing the record out with the therapeutic near-bare "Pool Of My Dreams" and acoustic-to-electric grand finale of "Plastic Couch", Grohl has achieved what she hoped to. She told her stories, brought her soul to the forefront, and with bringing her own individual flavours to the masterpiece, she also gave tribute to the ones who came before her. The ones who made ran a path to allow fresh blood like herself to walk. She's even pleading for understanding and acceptance in the title.
Be Sweet To Me is not just telling the world about herself, it's asking the world to give her just one chance.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
