It’s often hard to listen to songs that channel the music styles of a different decade without feeling like they’re hastily made imitations that sacrifice originality and quality for homage. But with her debut album, “Be Sweet To Me,” Violet Grohl overcomes this risk and produces alt-rock tracks that transport listeners back to the grungy sounds of the ’90s, injecting them with her own consistent style that keeps the songs sounding fresh. 

Grohl is the daughter of Dave Grohl — founder of the Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana — and previously released a single titled “Nausea” with her father in 2021. Now, she’s branching out on her own with her first solo album.  

While Violet Grohl certainly favors the alternative rock that she grew up around, the songs are thematically inspired by her fascination with gothic aesthetics and ghostly energies. When she does pay homage to the artists of the ’90s, she seems to channel the standout female voices of the time, such as PJ Harvey — the singer-songwriter and guitarist behind hits like “This Is Love” — and Courtney Love — lead singer of now-inactive alt-rock band Hole — more than her father’s projects. 

Grohl herself has stated that she’s heavily influenced by filmmaker David Lynch, and that ominous yet idyllic vibe seeps through the album, both in its eerie instrumental production and through some of Grohl’s lyrics. Most of the songs — with the exception of “Bug In The Cake” — don’t tell direct, clear-cut stories, but many paint gothic or surrealist images, such as “Applefish” with lyrics like “Black crow, fix of dawn / Kiss of death, siren song.”

“Be Sweet To Me” opens up with “THUM,” which features clear but angsty vocals from Grohl and spunky instrumentals from the electric bass, guitar and drums, making the song sound animated and exciting. The track is followed by “595,” slowing down the pace to accentuate an eerie riff that wails from the electric guitar, and Grohl’s PJ Harvey-esque deadpan vocals. 

The third song of the album, “Bug In The Cake,” is the most thematically guided track, as Grohl tells a story about time spent at a haunted house, which seems to have belonged to her grandma. The lyrics “Lights are off, but someone’s home / Haunted TV bungalow” are playful and can double as a campfire spooky story, highlighting Grohl’s strong storytelling capabilities as a lyricist.

However, the next track, “Last Day I Loved You,” feels like a complete switch-up in lyrical quality. Lines from the chorus, such as “and the last day I loved you is gone, it’s gone,” feel uninspired, making the grungy ballad ultimately forgettable despite Grohl’s stellar vocal ability and solid instrumental parts to back her. “Big Memory” follows a similar trajectory; both songs are sonically pleasant but lack memorable lyrics.

Although the two stand out as the most lackluster in lyricism of the album, some of the other tracks also struggle to gain a footing. The lyrics throughout the album tend to excel at giving imagery to the songs, but they lack overall messaging. Lines like “I’ll be a star in your car / I’ll eat your liver,” from “595,” characterize the songs under the dark, gothic tone that Grohl has adopted, but there seems to be very little meaning behind them other than for aesthetic purposes. 

After the two longing, melancholic ballads, “Mobile Star” features Grohl’s experimentalism, adding synths to the instrumental and suddenly transitioning into a softer tune. Grohl adopts a whispery quality to her voice, creating an ethereal and cryptic sound. This is one of many tracks that demonstrate her vocal flexibility; in the fittingly named “Applefish,” she applies a soothing tone with depth, à la Fiona Apple, onto a heavier instrumental track.

The soft tones progress in “Pool Of My Dreams,” which is the most hypnotic song from “Be Sweet To Me.” Donning an indie edge, the song is exactly as whimsical as the title indicates, putting the listener in a dream-like state; soft taps on the cymbals break through the softness of Violet Grohl’s voice, adding light liveliness to her somber tone. 

Although “Pool Of My Dreams” sounds significantly more akin to modern indie influences like The Marías than the other tracks, it remains consistent with the melancholy that is also present in songs like “Mobile Star,” “Applefish” and “Big Memory.” It’s clear that surrealism fascinates Grohl and is persistently a vivid theme in the album.

Following “Pool Of My Dreams” is the album’s most vocally impressive song and its closer, “Plastic Couch.” The first few minutes are almost entirely guided by Grohl’s voice, which has an intense yearning to it, and leads into mesmerizing riffs. About three minutes in, her vocal riff blends into the wail of the electric guitar, leading the song into a powerful instrumental outro centered around the drums and guitar, with her voice adding an alluring quality to the rhythm.

Throughout “Be Sweet To Me,” Grohl reinforces her obsession with haunting and the fantastical with her background vocals, wailing “oooh” and “ahh,” as well as through riffs that resemble a ghost with great pitch and melodic shrieks that echo from the electric guitar. 

Although there is room to grow in the lyrical department, “Be Sweet To Me” is a fantastic debut, featuring both upbeat and eerie alternative rock tracks, which are made truly enchanting by Grohl’s distinctive affinity for gothic imagery and incredible vocal range.