Such a shame my father can no longer hear this record
“Time to bring back the Golden Age of Country.
Time for Kroes.”
Kroes den Bock fuses the wide-open melancholy of Alaska with the smokestack realism of Helmond, crafting songs that feel as if Kris Kristofferson had wandered into a Dutch polder at dawn. His upcoming album revives outlaw country’s fearless storytelling for an age of whistleblowers and deepfakes—equal parts porch-light tenderness and barroom dissent.
Born on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and raised among the brick canals of the southern Netherlands, Kroes den Bock grew up straddling two frontiers—one carved by glaciers, the other by post-industrial grit. Early on, he found refuge in the narrative brilliance of Bobby Bare, Jerry Jeff Walker, and John Prine—songwriters who proved that three chords and the naked truth can still reshape a nation’s moral compass.
Jailed in the U.S.A.
For free speech I caught at the CIA
They said, “That’s not what Springsteen’s s’posed to say”
Yeah I’m jailed in the U.S.A. now
These opening lines from his lead single Jailed in the U.S.A. set the tone: razor-wire wit wrapped in a melody you want to whistle. The track marks Kroes’ first collaboration with award-winning Dutch poet Martijn Benders—already deeply embedded in Americana through his work with Melle de Boer on the cult classic De Vis die niet kon Zwemmen. Together they fuse Kroes’ Alaskan fire with Benders’ literary edge, creating songs where outlaw humor collides with Lowlands existentialism.
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Thus ends the first part of the official press release. The album will be released in six weeks. We’re doing everything by the book, though I wonder whether those so-called ‘shopkeepers and list owners’ who supposedly need time to listen to a record are actually able to sift through a million new releases—it seems the system has likely long since broken, yet everyone keeps pretending otherwise.
Somewhere, it’s a pity that my father can’t hear this record anymore.
I had set myself the goal of using this month in Germany to finish the record. I’m not quite there yet—music videos still need to be made. Over the past few weeks, I’ve rendered a five-second shot every single day. Make a good clip each day, and after a month you’ll have enough footage to compose a video. Thanks to AI, what used to be unthinkable—except with a budget of at least 50,000 euros—is now possible.
The next goal is to finish the video. I’ve got just under two weeks left for that; then we’ll be heading to Norway. Today we’re going to try out a spa in the area.
Kind regards,
Martinus Benders, 24-05-2025