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A great write up from Boomkat: "South London band Custom Blue suffered something of a setback in 2003 when they were dropped from Island Records. It came not long after the release of their debut album All Follow Everyone (which met with no small measure of critical acclaim) and their single 'So Low' being included on the soundtrack for daft Jason Statham action flick The Transporter. Now the band (based around the duo of Alex Pilkington and Simon Shippey) are in effect starting anew, having taken a few years out to explore solo projects, produce other artists and work as session players (Pilkington plays guitar for Spacek, Mark Pritchard and Kirk Degiorgio). Former single 'Cobblestones' starts the album, bringing to mind Doves with its spaciously produced, grandstanding acoustic rock, but immediately afterwards 'Not The Only One' takes us down into more stripped-down, emotionally stringent territory before settling into a downbeat, almost jazzy groove for 'Bruised You Too' and the Verve-ish 'Sun Gate'. As the album goes on, you're barraged by well-made alt. folk jams like 'Small Animals', and 'Autumn Flight', and clearly these most pared-down sounds are something the band excel at, making Alex Pilkington's forthcoming solo album as The Willow an interesting prospect."See the review here.
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Bring it on !
Thats a good and big review.
Come on baby........
The same as before but the other way around.
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From Amazon.co.uk
It's been a long wait for fans of Custom Blue. Their last album, All Follow Everyone, was released in 2002. When commercial success failed to match critical applause, the band were quietly dropped by Island Records.
Seven years later, I had assumed the duo had given up and gone on to do other things, but then there was a little flurry of activity on their Myspace site, and now a new album. Despite the gap, it picks up right where the last one finished, with the same sound: chillout beats and acoustic guitars, the two members taking turns at vocals.
All Will Be Well begins strong, with rattling, driving opener Cobblestones, then drops a gear to the melancholy Not The Only One and Bruised You Too, two downbeat and beautiful songs. As before, the melodies are immediate, but there's always more going on under the surface of a Custom Blue song. There are twinkles of piano, elegant basslines, deep rumblings. Over Your Shoulder emerges slowly from washes and textures of electric guitar, Small Animals is essentially a folk song, and April Eyes wraps up an album that is laid back, engrossing, and better than the first.
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Although i totally disagree with the comments about Alex - who sounds NOTHING like James Blunt, as well as the 5/10... anyway, just one man's opinion i suppose - in the interest of impartiality, here are a couple more...  
leggy leggy leggy leggy...
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Live Review:
Ho Hum Records release party
Custom Blue @ The Slaughtered Lamb, Clerkenwell, London
12/08/09
To celebrate the release of Custom Blue’s second album ‘All Will Be Well’ Ho Hum records invited us down to the The Slaughtered Lamb for an evening of post folk delights. And the invitations didn’t go unheeded, it was positively crammed to the rafters in the Lambs cosy bajuicet bar. You could have cut the hot and humid air with a knife but would have probably taken someone’s ear off at the same time. Custom Blue didn’t disappoint their vacuum packed audience though. They executed well crafted songs with professional ease and attention to detail. Spanning a wide dynamic range from stripped down acoustic numbers to epic compositions, swelling electric guitars, shimmering cymbals over syncopated beats all lead by earthy and touching vocals that had everyone gasping for air and shouting for more.
‘All Will Be Well’ is released 10/08/09 on Ho Hum Records.
Jack Hancrisp
144 Words
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Album review from Americana-Uk.com: Drifting nu-folk that never really engages Despite opening their latest album with “Cobblestones”, which sounds alarmingly like a speeded up version of America’s “Horse With No Name” Custom Blue are about as far removed from that classic country-rock-ish sound as it’s possible to be. If one were categorising one would plump instantly for nu-folk, as the gentle acousticity of the instruments, wispy vocals and the odd hint of electronica are all signifiers for said genre. The band are very good at it too but everything from the album sleeve onwards all feels designed rather than felt. The lyrics are snapshots from different places rather than coherent songs and the resulting music tends to drift by without ever really engaging the attention. The title track, a delicate even by the band’s standards instrumental, is a nice slow chill out work and “Small Animals” and “Bruised You Too” thoughtful and subtle musings on love but even these standouts are hard to recall half an hour later. The words are okay but the music seems calculated to send the listener to sleep so unless that’s what you’re after Custom Blue are best avoided. Date review added: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 Reviewer: Jeremy Searle Reviewers Rating: http://www.americana-uk.com/auk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=4910
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I found a nice review from Jeremy Williams who had purchased the album on amazon.co.uk:
"It's been a long wait for fans of Custom Blue. Their last album, All Follow Everyone, was released in 2002. When commercial success failed to match critical applause, the band were quietly dropped by Island Records.
Seven years later, I had assumed the duo had given up and gone on to do other things, but then there was a little flurry of activity on their Myspace site, and now a new album. Despite the gap, it picks up right where the last one finished, with the same sound: chillout beats and acoustic guitars, the two members taking turns at vocals.
All Will Be Well begins strong, with rattling, driving opener Cobblestones, then drops a gear to the melancholy Not The Only One and Bruised You Too, two downbeat and beautiful songs. As before, the melodies are immediate, but there's always more going on under the surface of a Custom Blue song. There are twinkles of piano, elegant basslines, deep rumblings. Over Your Shoulder emerges slowly from washes and textures of electric guitar, Small Animals is essentially a folk song, and April Eyes wraps up an album that is laid back, engrossing, and better than the first."
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Such a nice review we showed it twice....!!!?
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Ooops!
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Review from Fatea Mag.. Custom Blue
Album:All Will Be Well
Label:Ho Hum
Website: http://www.myspace.com/customblue
If Simon & Garfunkle had developed an interest in trippy pop rather than a hatred for each other then we may be talking about Custom Blue as a tribute band, but as they, we can talk about "All Will Be Well" as a luscious dream pop album, rich in harmonies and tinged with enough electronica to give it that other worldly feel. There is a layered feel about the album, a sense that the song peels it's self open to reveal more of it's self to the listener. It's a hook that works well most of the time, ensuring it holds your attention enough to give the lyrics a chance to weave a spell.
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Latest review care of Uncut Magazine, November 2009. 
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Another review for All Will Be Well, this time from Mexico care of Indie Rocks! Here is our best translation from Spanish:
There are several makers of music bands that reach the most intrinsic of our daily mental life, but few are those that invite us to the sound of the depth of feelings. Custom Blue is one of the few bands that achieves both a subtle way, without shortcuts, right into the bone. His music takes away the shame of admitting that you like sunsets, you think of the loved, melancholy feel alone in the streets of lighting, and write in a corner bar a note with the words moon, eyes and always.
Originally from Dulwich, south London, Alex Pilkington and Simon Shippey began the project in 1995, having recorded and produced for Island Records, V2, Far Out Recordings and! K7 Records, then join his new label Hum Hum Records, the that Alex is a founding partner. Simon explains more: "Custom Blue is communication in human experience, it seems that it is increasingly difficult to find real ways to express emotions in ways that are not devalued by the lack of thought in recent days. Many things are becoming too instant and near, the world becomes smaller and as soon you have a thought, anyone can read it before you've had a chance to reflect. "
The group began to have several fans in the past decade, fans were convinced of their talent to see them every week, because they could not stop playing in the London of the 90: "It was an amazing time, although we were a completely different band. The line up changed several times, we have beautiful memories of that time, the forums that no longer exist, "said Simon. This has undoubtedly left its mark of maturity and honesty in their careers, and may be found faithful in his last All Will Be Well, Alex made it clear: "I always think we're at the beginning of something to try to get a new project from a different angle. Saying that, I think this is the most honest record of our history, in terms of being true to ourselves musically and lyrically. I like what Ernest Hemingway used to say: "Write the truest thing you know and start working from there."
As mentioned, Alex and Simon, have other projects of very good quality, as Hoighty Beaver: "One day we will gather to record Sieving Clots For the second album by Alex Hoighty Beaver talked with goosebumps of excitement, we have few one-off tracks for people, so we need to enable another page of My Space so they can listen. I also have a project called The Willow, and Simon is another name for Old Ghost Peace. We live in two different continents, so we can not make themes for Custom Blue all the time, but certainly the music we love to produce everything we can. "
With this love of music had to ask for their dreams as producers and musicians: "This is sheer fantasy, but would love to work with ... Neil Young! He is quite a visceral force live, but do not think anyone rete their decisions in the studio as he often did his longtime producer, David Briggs. We would play in his backing band and we would do what he told us, "shouted Simon excited.
In Mexico they have come as tourists, but When will you come play?, Alex launched at the ceiling, saying: "It would be a dream to go to Latin America to play, if there is a demand would reverse whatever it took to make this possible. Both have spent time there, I have visited Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Simon has walked through Palenque, Tikal, Tulum, Coba and Uxmal, and he admires Maya archeology. These views have influenced his creativity, especially to suppress vice called routine, Simon added: "The song" Structure "of our first album speaks of being spoiled by the routine and at times create soundscapes like" Outline "and "Maya" to get away from it. Dreamed at the same time we played, there is something so refreshing in a dream ... Maybe the total lack of rules. Before we had a solid routine when they asked us to do music full time, sometimes this work was going well, but not always. I always admire the fact that Lennon and McCartney of the day devoted to writing, and now as we are both parents have to live with the routines, it is what our lives are demanding, yet we are dreaming a lot, as before. "
After daydreaming and routines, we should return to this music, to globalization and technologies that help us affect, Alex stated: "The music is too big to disappear, we believe there is good reason why the music industry would fail, after being a greedy machine for 30 years.
moNTH time to give musicians a fairer deal and I think those times will come. The dust needs to settle the whole web 2.0, it is too spamming so you can hear, what a shame. "
We returned to Mexico in the imagination and did, in conclusion, that Custom Blue seek a song that might move them up here, Simon noted with glee: "Sitting in the metropolis of London and New York, in this cold winter wind, gray architecture , leaves falling from trees and an extraordinary amount of routine, I think "So Far Away" would be my choice "...www.indie-rocks.com
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For those good at German: http://www.mescaline-injection.de/?p=4733For those wanting the Google translation: While it was still around CUSTOM BLUE. After 2002 they released "All Follow Everyone" was first layer in the pit in 2006 the single "Under Your Counter / You're On Your Own" followed on the London label Far Out Recordings, which is mainly known for his jazz and Latin publications . Then again pause and quiet, secret, creative work. It's not like that the only activity for CUSTOM BLUE Alex Pilkington and Simon Shippey would be Mark Tucker, the men still worked for years in many different ways in the music industry. 2008 was it's own label Ho Hum Records built from the ground, and shortly afterwards, the analysis concluded, the second album "All Will Be Well" finally completed. The result should not surprise connoisseurs of the mighty first plate. The down-tempo groove and the electronics are almost completely gone, are now dominating the indie and alternative sounds, like the dreamy "Black Ice" are very close to shoegaze, while for "Not The Only One" points of contact with folk There. Time has left its mark felt, even if they CUSTOM BLUE have not fundamentally reinvented. However, already shows the first song "Cobblestones" in a different direction. Acoustic Rock, reduced the drums and the guitars all progressing. Many of the songs to shine with minimal arrangements that rely on a high level of intensity. Prominent is there e.g. "Outline" with its delicate keyboards, the cautious attacks on the guitar and the soft piano music. In "Sun Gate" flashed brief jazz influences, especially here must report the drum to speak clearly. Otherwise, it is located to the ensemble of CUSTOM BLUE especially on atmospheric composition. This is no music more relaxing to drive through the night, brightly lit streets - here one can enjoy the morning dawning of a new day, away from all the hectic and ephemeral. Music, you need to, in principle, no electricity, but can be easily set with two guitars into a club, while the audience listens carefully to the sounds of the strings. Significantly different than its predecessor, but at least as good 7/10
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Nice one. Impossible Germany ? I think not.
The same as before but the other way around.
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