LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ll admit it: I tend to give the children of famous recording artists a little short shrift when it comes to their own musical careers. There’s always that natural skepticism, the quiet assumption that the spotlight arrived before the songs did. But lately, a lot of these younger artists have been forcing me to check that bias. And with Violet Grohl, I’m happy to say I was wrong.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve been sleeping on Violet Grohl for a while. I knew she had been releasing music since 2021, but her new single “Cool Buzz” is the one that finally got me to pay full attention.
The song opens with frenetic guitar strums and aggressive punk drums that come charging through the speakers like they’ve got something to prove. Then comes the sudden drop, the arrangement pulling back just enough for Violet’s vocals to slide in with that cool, detached bite that immediately reminded me of the female-fronted alternative rock bands I grew up loving in the ’90s.
I’m a child of the ’90s. I was in high school when this kind of alt-rock and grunge-heavy sound was shaping everything around me. That mix of melody, distortion, and attitude still hits the spot for me in a way few modern records do. “Cool Buzz” taps directly into that same nerve. It feels familiar without sounding like imitation.
And honestly, whether intentionally or not, the DNA is there. Violet herself has cited artists like Pixies, Soundgarden, PJ Harvey, The Breeders, L7, and Alice in Chains as core influences, and you can absolutely hear that lineage running through the track. If her father, Dave Grohl, had anything to say about the house playlist growing up, I imagine she had a pretty strong education in exactly the right records.
Lyrically, “Cool Buzz” is sharp and pointed. Violet describes the song as taking aim at the moral inconsistencies of punk guys who loudly preach progressive politics while still creating spaces where women are pushed aside. That frustration drives the song’s core, and the writing lands because it doesn’t over-explain itself. Lines like “Shoot my favorite arrow / Through the mind that’s narrow” carry both sarcasm and confrontation, while the repeated “Narrow mind” chorus turns the accusation into something almost chant-like, built for a sweaty room and a crowd shouting it back.
I love how the verses don’t waste words. “Bust my lip / Is my heart still bleeding?” hits quickly and leaves bruises behind. It feels like the kind of songwriting that trusts instinct over polish, which is exactly what a song like this needs.
“Cool Buzz” is the latest preview of Violet’s debut album Be Sweet To Me, due May 29 via Republic Records and Auroura Records. The project was recorded at producer Justin Raisen’s Los Angeles home studio, with a loose collaborative spirit inspired by the old-school session-player magic of the Wrecking Crew. Previous singles like “THUM,” “Applefish,” and “595” have already shown different shades of her songwriting, but “Cool Buzz” feels like the one that kicks the door open…. at least for me.
She’s also announced her first-ever headline shows this summer, with East Coast dates in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, along with festival appearances at Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, and Shaky Knees Festival. If she keeps releasing songs like this, those rooms are going to get loud.
I don’t know what else to say other than this song rocks, and if Violet Grohl keeps making music like “Cool Buzz,” I’ll be headbanging at her shows the same way I’ve headbanged for her father’s.
Follow Violet Grohl on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
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Tour Dates:
6/4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
6/5 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Lounge at World Stage Live
6/6 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
6/23 – Baltimore, MD @ Nevermore Music Hall *
6/24 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 *
8/23 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
8/28 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
8/29 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic
8/30 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
9/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
9/26 – Brooklyn, NY @ CBGB Festival
* w/ The Breeders
