‘I’ll eat your liver,” Violet Grohl threatens on 595, a scuzzy, slasher-inspired alt-rock single that feels made for 90s MTV. Arch, deadpan verses give way to a big, bluesy, intentionally sleazy chorus, finished with blown-out guitar and squealing feedback: part Veruca Salt, part Queens of the Stone Age. Despite just turning 20, Grohl has the rock’n’roll credentials for her throwback sound. The eldest daughter of Foo Fighters’ Dave, Violet fronted a rare Nirvana reunion aged just 13 – her coolly authoritative vocals making it more symbolic than a mere family favour.
While it’s true that her dad linked her with taste-making producer Justin Raisen (Kim Gordon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sky Ferreira) for this debut album, and its grungy tracks haven’t been road-tested in sticky dive bars that music like this usually demands, Grohl is admirably direct about her nepo status. “Decide for yourself if I’m worthy,” she told the Forty-Five.
Cool Buzz, roaring and snotty, makes a persuasive case. Flashes of ska-inspired guitar à la No Doubt crash against hardcore drums deserving of a circle pit as Grohl rails against narrow-mindedness. Slow-burn centrepiece Often Others is seething, sour and groovy, while Mobile Star has a Lynchian strangeness that shows a softer, creepier edge to Grohl’s voice. But often, Be Sweet to Me’s nostalgia is too reverent, too predictable: the glitched guitar on Last Day I Loved You and tape-deck fizz on Plastic Couch come off like stage makeup, rather than real war paint. Grohl’s a genuine talent, but her hungry threats need sharper fangs.