The apple doesn’t fall far from the alternative rock tree.
There wouldn’t be any point in disguising the influences anyway, so why not play with your cards open? On her debut album BE SWEET TO ME, Violet Grohl aggressively exposes her sources to the outside world. There’s her father Dave’s ex-band, including some hooks with that typical Kurt Cobain guitar that you’d have to mark as quotes in an academic paper, they’re so similar to the original. The many female-dominated 90s indie rock bands serve as inspiration, the Breeders and Belly for example, with songs like “Bug In The Cake” but also L7.
Violet Grohl combines the sound of these role models with a new way of telling stories. “Last Day I Loved You” is a defiant, self-determined farewell, “Mobile Star” combines dream pop elements with reflections on the world of social media stars, which today works completely differently than the MTV circus that her father had to deal with back then at Nirvana.
“Often Others” shows that Violet Grohl shares Daddy’s passion for metal, but is more into the industrial version of Killing Joke. Immediately afterwards, “Applefish” with its loud-quiet dynamic is the atmospheric highlight of a solid debut.
