Jim Kroft

If you find yourself searching for new singer/songwriters, then consider Jim Kroft. He’s just released “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea”, an album packed with the right amount of pop, rock and folk. Pretty brilliant then, eh? We think so anyway.

Take for example Kroft’s second song off the album, “One Sees The Sun”, which kicks off with a wonderful string arrangement that blends ever so well with the driving bass and acoustic harmonies. Halfway through the track we hear Kroft’s vocals take off into the legendary territories of Bowie, sucking the listener into a trance of hypnotic melody.

One of the several highlights coming off Kroft’s work is the splash of pop that blends so well with his originality in his songs. As the music industry on the whole continues to become saturated with sameness, Kroft is a genuine talent that stands among the few who brings his own flavor of what folk-rock should sound like.

The good news is that he does it exceptionally well, too. Album standout, “Guess That’s What The Gods Say” is an up-tempo, piano driven track where Kroft sings in equal frenzy. “The Great Doomsday Story”, meanwhile, shows a sensitive side of Kroft talking of a world gone mad and begging, “Where have all the good people gone?” Fine question there, Jim.

Just as the summer season slowly begins to kick off, this Berlin-based Brit has fashioned an enjoyable album for those long awaited sunny skies. The beats of summer are especially heard in the ‘60s rock influenced “Ragdoll”, and the early days of Britpop is easily recognizable in album closer, “Let Go.”

Kroft has crafted a rather uplifting album not only filled with the aforementioned genres of pop and rock, but also the sensibilities of folk and ballads, making an all inclusive album that is highly likeable for the sounds of summer. - theregoesthefear.com

Scotsman heads to Berlin to craft exquisite pop

Kroft, a Scotsman, found himself transplanted across the channel to Berlin, seeking creative inspiration and ultimately leading a life of vagrancy, squatting in an abandoned building with the Tacheles Arts Community, a cabal of like minded bohemian types given to nurturing creativity and expression, and it’s here that ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’ began to gestate.

There is an audible Berlin influence to this debut, but it’s more Bowie than Krautrock. These are all finely crafted, vaguely Beatle-esque (just listen to those key changes!) pop vignettes that suggest a fine ear for melody and a range that has been clearly at least influenced by the disparate though communal sense of creativity provided by Kroft’s fellow down and out artists. There’s sonic invention and innovation aplenty, but never at the expense of structure and cohesiveness, and in this way ‘...Deep Blue Sea’ manages to be both adventurous and listenable in the tradition of the likes of Grandaddy or the Flaming Lips, though it sounds inevitably more continental than those guys, and is imbued with a more explicit 60s guitar pop vibe.

Of particular note are album highlights ‘The Great Doomsday Story’ which manages to be both catchy and literate, big Band-of-Horses-go-post-punk guitar riffs underpinning a weighted and maniacal tale through which Nietchze, Dostoyevsky and the Buddha weave and tumble, and ‘Second Chance’, whose redemptive air offers release and even carries a soaring stadium rock appeal.

This is smart and exciting music whose only faults - Kroft’s vocal is a little thin, the drum part on track 3 is in a disappointingly vanilla Heart FM mould - amount to little more than nitpicking. And when nitpicking is the best negative criticism that can be levelled against a record, it’s probably not too bad a record. - amerikana-UK.com

Single Review: Jim Kroft – Memoirs Of The Afterlife
When the promo for Jim Kroft’s new single dropped through my letterbox I have to confess his was a name I was unfamiliar with. So firing up my trusty laptop, I went into cyberspace for a bit of googling. 10 minutes all I had found out was that he released a well received album last year and he lives in Berlin. Having listened to his new single ‘Memoirs From The Afterlife’ I think I can safely add that he’s a talented and creative musician to that measly list. Produced by Kroft and Matt Ingram (aka Laura Marling’s drummer) and mixed by Richard Wilkinson who has previously worked with Kaiser Chiefs (we’ll come back to that) ‘Memoirs From The Afterlife’ is a wonderful slice of dreamy, 60s inspired pop. Featuring lush string arrangements and swirling melodies that disguise the darker lyrical content of the song, it’s the kind of jaunty and quirky pop perfection that the Kaiser Chiefs have been chasing their whole career. I can imagine Ricky Wilson listening to this with his head in hands and tears in his eyes. Even better is the Eppy Remix which dispenses of all the instrumentation except drums in favour of handclaps, and I love handclaps!

Mark Cousens - punkrockistnichttot.com

Last year we got to take in the first nostalgic whiff of singer songwriter Jim Krofts take on the summery sounds of Britpop when he released his debut record, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea which carried the brilliant lead single, One Sees The Sun.

Now, six months on, we are given the singers latest single to be taken from his forthcoming sophomore release.

Memoirs Of The Afterlife is in sync with his previous releases. The fresh, summer vibe is still present on this latest catchy effort for Kroft and comes fully filled with a big orchestral backdrop and gorgeously flowing backing vocals that really fill the track to the brim.

The track is very cinematic and a much more commercial outing than Krofts previous singles.

The Berlin based musician's latest venture into the world of the mainstream is pencilled in for Monday 21st February and could see the promising new singer songwriters breakthrough come in the form of the parent record which sees its release later in the year.

The single release of Memoirs Of The Afterlife is also accompanied by a sweetly Parisian laced, jazz cafe inspired b-side Cracked Polaroid making it a single well worth the buy as well as coming in a tasty litle packaging. - entertainment-focus.com

Single Review
British songwriter Jim Kroft actually resides in Berlin at present, yet you wouldn't have guessed whilst listening to the mild eccentricities on display here on this EP. For example, lead-track "Memoirs..." is straight out of Ray Davies or Ian Broudie's song-book, rather than the hardened streets of Europe's techno city.
His last release was the album "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", an album we at Allgigs quite liked last year - yet where is it now? Cruelly buried with other talented writers? Probably, so here's another pleasing burst of psychedelic pop-music which has been produced by Laura Marling's drummer Matt Ingram and mixed at the aforementioned Davies' Konk Studios. Lots of strings, lots of phasing and swirling guitars here and there, but above all a memorable hook - yeah, this is what we want.
Backing it all up are two further tracks of varying results - "Cracked Polaroids" is a bit too French ooh-la-la for my liking but it's likeable enough, while a remix of "Memoirs..." (by, or just simply called, Eppy) whiles away a few minutes without adding or taking away a great deal from the original. Overall though, a smartly taken opportunity to shine brightly amongst the bright young British pop-things. - Paul Pledger

Well, my best long distance mate is back at it again and hard at work on his second album. If you’ve missed out on his first release Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea I’m not too surprised. Like many other artists I love dearly, Jim Kroft is a very DIY artist. He takes control of everything he puts out and doesn’t let it head out the door without his golden stamp of approval.

Back when this blog was young, jim Kroft was one man I took kindly too. And he took kindly to me. We were kindred musical spirits set out on the same path. Now he’s pushing forward and continuing his hard work on a second release.

If this full length is anything like the last, we’re in for a real treat.

Have a look at the stunning video for the first single ‘Memoirs From the Afterlife’. I can tell between his first videos and this one that the creativity is still there, yet the production quality has jumped up quite a notch to show us the true story form the song portrays.


Memoirs From the Afterlife is set to be released Feb 21st, 2011 on Jackalope Records. Each Limited Edition CD will be released individually with handmade silk screened artwork that I can only guarantee with be stunning.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this release. But for now, enjoy an exclusive B-Side titled ‘Cracked Polaroids’ - Dyson Sound