Be Sweet to Me

As the eldest daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl,^[1] Violet Grohl said in an interview that she does not care about her status as a nepo baby:^[2]

"Obviously, doors are open for me because of my last name," she eye-rolls. "It's not something I'm ever going to hide behind or say, 'No, I worked so hard for this! You guys shouldn't say that! That hurts my feelings.' I don't care – I really don't. I've heard that since I was 13 years old. So call me a nepo baby all you want. It's 'whatever' to me. I just hope that eventually people will give me a shot."

Before recording her debut album, Grohl released a cover of X's "Nausea" with her father in 2021.^[3][4] She also contributed backing vocals to Foo Fighters' songs "Making a Fire" (2022) and "Show Me How" (2023), and performed live with the band at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in 2022 and the Glastonbury Festival in 2023.^[a] While always wanting a career in music, Grohl specifically mentioned that her time recording "Show Me How" gave her the insight and confidence to pursue a solo career.^[9]

Grohl recorded Be Sweet to Me from August 2024 to May 2025^[10] primarily at producer Justin Raisen's Los Angeles home studio with a Wrecking Crew-like group of studio musicians.^[11][12] Grohl contacted Raisen, whose previous collaborators included Kim Gordon, Charli XCX, and Lil Yachty, through her father after a Gordon show in Copenhagen. The two formed an immediate mutual connection: "He was pulling these references – things that are really near and dear to me, or that maybe the average listener might not know – and I just thought: 'Okay, this is who I should be working with'."^[13] Raisen co-produced the album with Anthony Paul Lopez, with additional production from Joe Kennedy on "Last Day I Loved You" and Brad Lauchert on "Pool of My Dreams".^[14]

Grohl explained that the musicians were close friends and frequent collaborators of Raisen's: "They're the coolest, most talented, genuine music lovers, and seriously talented musicians ... I'd never been in that kind of recording environment before. Everyone would throw out ideas, or I would share a reference, and whatever it was about the song, [we'd ask] how we can build and make it a completely new, different thing."^[12] Grohl did not play any instruments on the album, saying that she felt shy and outclassed by the skilled musicians around her.^[15] All of the album's songs originated from jam sessions.^[16] On the songwriting process, Grohl said the songs were built around "inspiration playlists" that she brought to the studio: "[W]e would hang and listen for a little while, and then start writing."^[17] Before her debut, Grohl's songwriting process was more solitary than collaborative.^[15] Nevertheless, she expressed appreciation for the collaborative recording process, finding others' input helped give her motivation and insight into making better music.^[13][15]

The first song recorded was "Thum",^[9] followed by "Plastic Couch".^[16] A few weeks were spent recording the album's intense tracks, including "Cool Buzz" and "Often Others", before Grohl decided she wanted songs with a heavier emotional weight, resulting in "Mobile Star", "Pool of My Dreams", and "Applefish", which were sonically inspired by the spacious atmospheres of Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.^[18]

Featuring 11 tracks, Be Sweet to Me is primarily an alternative rock album,^[12][13] with elements of grunge, heavy metal, shoegaze, punk, folk, and jazz.^[19][18] Its sound was compared directly to the music of the 1990s,^[20][21] particularly the alt-rock sound her father was a part of.^[1] Mojo magazine's Stephen Thomas Erlewine "marr[ies] the etheral swoon of dream-pop with the crunch of grunge, creating a fusion that evokes the off-kilter spirit of the '90s."^[22] Grohl cited the Breeders, Hole, PJ Harvey, Pixies, Soundgarden, and Cocteau Twins as her primary musical influences for the album.^{[9][11][23][24]} She said in a statement: "There's something so powerful about that period of music, from the messaging to the visuals, it's authentic and raw."^[11] Comparisons were also made to her father Dave Grohl's former band Nirvana, Veruca Salt, and Queens of the Stone Age.^[23][25][26] The Music's Mary Varvaris described the production as "unshakably heavy, with fuzzed-out, gritty guitars and hard-hitting drums swirling around Grohl's tender voice."^[15]

Lyrically, Be Sweet to Me is filled with film imagery and Lynchian surrealism, relying on symbolism to tell coming of age stories.^[12] In interviews, Grohl discussed her love of David Lynch, finding "relatability" in his work; Lynch's influence can be heard on "595",^[9][15] whilst "Often Others" references Twin Peaks.^[10] Grohl explained that because she often used visual and symbolic imagery in her music, her songs combined her love of cinema and music.^[15] Daisy Carter of DIY wrote that the lyrics "revel in relative ambiguity; rather than spoon-feeding the listener, they zoom in on diverse details [...] using them as microcosmic explorations of grief, desire, and identity."^[13] "Cool Buzz" was inspired by Grohl's experiences with misogyny and enriched by stories shared by friends.^[16] There are also themes of romance and mourning.^[19]

The album's title came from an in-joke between Grohl and her best friend during playful banter.^[12][16] She further said that the phrase could "be seen as a pretext for the album. Just ... be sweet."^[12] The album's cover photograph and accompanying promotional images were taken by the photographer Bella Newman.^[27]

The album was preceded by the singles "Thum" b/w "Applefish", released on December 7, 2025,^[28] followed by "595" on March 11, 2026,^[29] and "Cool Buzz" on April 28.^[30] Music videos were released for the singles. For "Thum" and "595", Grohl worked with the director Nikki Milan Houston, who developed the videos' visuals based on ideas from Grohl;^[24] Houston also directed the video for "Cool Buzz".^[31] The video for "Bug in the Cake" features the pornographic film actress Nina Hartley as Grohl's grandmother.^[32] The album was released on May 29, through Republic Records and Grohl's own imprint, Auroura Records.^[11][15][29]

To promote the album, Grohl conducted interviews with numerous publications across America, Europe, and Asia. These included Consequence,^[18] Dork,^[16] DIY,^[13] The Forty-Five,^[2] Kerrang!,^[9] Nylon,^[1] The Music Australia,^[15] RockUrLife,^[24] and Rock Sound.^[33] On her extensive promotion, Grohl said: "If you want to put yourself out there, you have to put yourself out there."^[16] She made her television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 3, 2026, performing "Bug in the Cake".^[11] To support Be Sweet to Me, Grohl is set to embark on headlining tour dates across the United States and Canada through fall 2026, while also supporting the Breeders on other select shows.^[1][18][34]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[35]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[23]
Clash	8/10[19]
Classic Pop	[36]
Classic Rock	[25]
Exclaim!	8/10[37]
The Guardian	[38]
Kerrang!	4/5[20]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[21]
Mojo	[22]
Musikexpress	[39]
Paste	C−[40]

Close

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Be Sweet to Me received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from nine critic scores. Critics generally described the album as a strong debut and one that reflects Grohl's 1990s alternative rock influences and lineage.^[b] AllMusic's Neil Z. Young argued that Be Sweet to Me could "serve as an entry point for younger generations to discover the music of those older inspirations".^[23] Writing for Clash magazine, Paulina Subia praised Grohl's musical range and vocal performances, ultimately saying: "With this album, Grohl takes command of her sound with an evident thrill for how music can be imbued with a spectrum of emotion; and, in turn, Be Sweet to Me becomes unforgettable."^[19] Erlewine similarly praised Grohl's vocals, saying she successfully adapted to different musical styles.^[22]

Many critics believed Grohl successfully broke away from her father's shadow and established herself as a creative talent.^[c] Writing for Exclaim!, David James Young wrote: "With Be Sweet to Me, Violet Grohl has shifted the weight of expectation with the expertise of a powerlifter. Outrunning a long-cast shadow, she's proven why she deserves your attention."^[37] The Line of Best Fit's Marie Hascoët was eager to hear where Grohl would go next: "Brimming with heightened emotions and vivid colours, Violet Grohl's surrealist universe promises to hide many treasures and surprises alike, yet to be discovered."^[21]

In a more mixed assessment, The Guardian's Katie Hawthorne wrote that the nostalgic music was "too reverent [and] too predictable", concluding, "Grohl's a genuine talent, but her hungry threats need sharper fangs."^[38] More negatively, Grace Robins-Somerville of Paste magazine found that Grohl's 1990s-influenced sound failed to set her apart from her Gen Z alt-rock peers, ultimately writing: "It's natural for a young artist to wear their influences like armor on the way to figuring out how to make certain sounds their own, but on Violet Grohl's debut album, these influences are wearing her."^[40] In the Dutch music magazine Oor, Reinier Van Der Zouw hoped that Grohl would take more creative risks and not copy others for her next record, but believed the album was enjoyable and proved she has potential.^[26]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• "Thum" is stylized in all caps

Credits are adapted from liner notes^[14] and Tidal.^[41]

Musicians