Violet Grohl will release her debut album, Be Sweet to Me, on May 29 via Auroura Records/Republic Records. The musician also shared a new single, “595,” along with a music video for the track, directed by Nikki Milan Houston.
Be Sweet To Me was recorded from late 2024 into early 2025 at producer Justin Raisen’s Los Angeles home studio alongside musicians assembled in the spirit of the Wrecking Crew session players in the ’60s and ’70s. The first track that emerged was “Thum,” which Grohl released in September.
In a press release, Grohl said she was inspired by alternative music from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, including Pixies, Soundgarden, Cocteau Twins, and the Breeders. “There’s something so powerful about that period of music, from the messaging to the visuals, it’s authentic and raw,” she said in a statement. “I’ve listened to that stuff since I was a kid.”
In January, Grohl released “What’s Heaven Without You,” a track written in the aftermath of the Altadena fires in Los Angeles and the death of filmmaker David Lynch. “This song was written in David Lynch’s memory alongside two of my favorite collaborators in the world, Persia Numan, and Justin Raisen,” Grohl said in a statement. “A few days after the chaos and devastation of the LA fires, we came together in our sadness and grief and let it pour out into this song.”
Grohl, the eldest daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, has been performing music for several years. In 2021, released a cover of X’s “Nausea” made alongside her dad, which the duo later performed live on Jimmy Kimmel, joined by Krist Novoselic, Dave Lombardo, and Greg Kurstin.
She’s also performed numerous times on the road with the Foo Fighters, including joining them during their tribute concerts for late drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022, and in 2023, she duetted with her dad on “Show Me How.”
Be Sweet to Me is available to pre-order in black, blueberry jam, and ivory vinyl, as well as on CD.
There’s no immediate resolution in any of this. There’s no surrender either — and a lot of great escape. White’s slide guitar in “Dollar Bill” sounds like a National Steel on steroids until the solo, when it turns into what seems like a theremin gone postal. “I Can’t Believe What I’m Hearing” has a great pop-wise chorus closer to the Pretty Things than Son House. And don’t miss White’s wry aside to the White Stripes’ old creation myth in the second verse of “G.O.D.,” on the way to the real business at hand. “Well, it’s the beginning of the world now,” he declares at the song’s end. “Let’s do it all over again.”
