Tim Vantol
"Road Sweet Road" | The Greatest Records/Road Sweet Road Records| LP/CD
Written by: Christer Davidsson | Posted: December 1st, 2009

2009 has been a fantastic year with amazing releases by some of my favorite singer/songwriters. Austin Lucas released "Somebody Loves You", Mr. Ragan unleashed "Gold Country", Frank Turner's "Poetry For The Deed" was released etc. With that in mind, I was pretty sure I wouldn't get to hear any more new releases in the genre that would blow my mind, but along came a dude from Amsterdam.

I don't really know anything about this guy except that he's dutch and that he plays his heart out on this record called "Road Sweet Road". If you like Chuck Ragan and Frank Turner then Vantol is for you. In fact, I think his sound is a pretty good blend of the two (there's a touch of Attica/Attica!! as well, which is great). There's country, folk and raw energy, all done with a twinkle in the eye. I'm not going into specific songs on this one 'cause the truth is that I really love all of them. Vantol is a very talented songwriter who sing's like there's no tomorrow.

With "Road Sweet Road" being Vantol's debut (at least I think it is...?) one would expect at least a few fillers but that is not the case here. There are only nine songs on the album which might be a deliberate move, and if so, a smart one. Either way, "Road Sweet Road" came as very pleasant surprise with just a month left of the year making it a possible album on my 2009 top 20 list. Look this guy up everyone!

Record Nerd Notes:
300 copies pressed. 4 colored hand screened sleeve. Haze colored vinyl. MP3 code included.

Tim Vantol | The Greatest Records