BE SWEET TO ME

There are some names that weigh heavy on your shoulders, like an ostrich desperately trying to take off. Going by the name Grohl when you decide to make a name for yourself in a complex and saturated music industry speaks to either suicidal nonchalance or visceral confidence. With her debut LP Be Sweet To Me, the eldest daughter of the international godfather of grunge puts the debate to rest from the very first seconds of listening, the album delivering a candid, honest, direct sound that immediately plunges us into a brutal yet fully embodied nineties aesthetic.

Right from the opening track “THUM,” it is clear that the record is not trying to compromise with the polished modernity of algorithms. Produced by Justin Raisen — previously seen at the helm for Sky Ferreira or Kim Gordon — the album bathes in a gritty, murky reverb where distortion reigns supreme. Like a sonic magician, Violet Grohl surprises and disrupts, shifting smoothly from Cocteau Twins-style ethereal vocals to raw, guttural wails reminiscent of PJ Harvey.

“595,” one of the record’s greatest triumphs, draws inspiration from the faded yet incredibly endearing graphics of an old American fraternity t-shirt, where a pounding bassline and abrasive guitar collide with immediate efficiency. It captures that grimy, saturated tension that was the lifeblood of bands like The Breeders or Soundgarden: a sweaty, highly flammable kind of basement music carved out between Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, entirely going against the grain. “Applefish” confirms this direction, rolling out a deceptively simplistic, almost naive riff before exploding into a blast of flannel prints and raw feedback.

What captivates throughout these eleven tracks condensed into roughly thirty minutes is the complete absence of cynicism. Violet Grohl is not capitalizing on retro nostalgia just to entertain the crowd; she brilliantly regurgitates the memories of her childhood to turn them into a playground where she absolutely excels. Listening to Be Sweet To Me feels like discovering a forgotten treasure hidden deep inside an attic decades later: it is charming, immediate, successful, and it thoroughly shakes up a modern rock scene that can sometimes be a bit too pristine for its own good.

Welcome, Violet.