Fast - Custom

'Custom', the stagename used by artist Duane Lavold, is a very hard man to come across. The name is such a common word that searching for him on any search engine comes up with almost nothing relevant, he's produced only one album, never tours, has no exposure any more... for a six foot eight tall man he hides well!

This, 'Fast', is Custom's debut album, and as it was released in 2002 (it now being mid 2006) it could well be his only ...
...busy with his fingers in many pies - film directing, pro- skating, etc...

Anyway, he received some notoriety at the time for the controversy over his song 'Hey Mister' - it was banned from MTV apparently on the grounds of paedophilia [the song features lyrics such as "Hey mister, I really like your daughter", but it is of course entirely innocent, as every female is someone's daughter..], and I personally found out about ... more

'Custom', the stagename used by artist Duane Lavold, is a very hard man to come across. The name is such a common word that searching for him on any search engine comes up with almost nothing relevant, he's produced only one album, never tours, has no exposure any more... for a six foot eight tall man he hides well!

This, 'Fast', is Custom's debut album, and as it was released in 2002 (it now being mid 2006) it could well be his only album.. Only time will tell I suppose. He's probably too busy with his fingers in many pies - film directing, pro- skating, etc...

Anyway, he received some notoriety at the time for the controversy over his song 'Hey Mister' - it was banned from MTV apparently on the grounds of paedophilia [the song features lyrics such as "Hey mister, I really like your daughter", but it is of course entirely innocent, as every female is someone's daughter..], and I personally found out about him thanks to Kerrang! magazine, to whom I am grateful!
This album is an eclectic mix of songs that would span a variety of genres, were they ever to be classified, so the album as a whole is most definitely would almost anybody would call 'alternative'. It ranges from being hip-hop and rap, through melodic rock, acoustic, chill-out, stadium or hard rock, orchestral... a little bit for everybody, so it might take a broad music taste to like the whole thing. I think I remember reading at the time that he played every instrument in every song too, so an impressive debut certainly.

A rundown of the tracks goes as follows:

1. Beat Me
This is a slow and quiet (but strong) start to the album , with quiet strumming on an acoustic and some nice strings in the background, over Custom gently rapping, and switching to more gently rapping over some slow drums in the verses. The lyrics appear to be mostly non-sensical when closely examined, but they sound meaningful under less inspection, and I'm sure they mean something to him.

2. Hey Mister
The song I spoke about above, and the only (as far as I'm aware) single from the album, this features much more explicit (i.e. not vague or seemingly non-sensical) lyrics, about a girl and what Custom'd like to do with her, but addressed as a monologue to her father... A very pleasant and catchy song, featuring acoustic guitars and glockenspiels at the beginning, mixing with more distorted electric guitars around the middle, where the song picks up in pace, then fading back down again towards the end.

3. Streets
What sounds like a very introspective and melancholic song, hearing the intro and knowing the title instantly makes one think of drizzle and trudging through one's sorrows. This song gains energy and apparent anger in the chorus then cranking down to more introspection and inarticulate (and melodic) sighing. One of my favourite songs on the album.

4. Like You
A slow burning song that builds up to an epic chorus the power of which is very emotional. This song has very heartfelt lyrics about a girl ("enough beauty to fill this room a thousand times") as well as beautiful but surreal ones ("soul stretching like paint in the rain"). Another of my favourites here.

5. Mess
A more jolly song here, done on electronic instruments - keyboards, synths, or similar, with a bouncy drum beat and a few bits of vinyl-scratching over the top. This song describes (I presume, by the use of "I") Custom's mess of a life ("driving this wreck of a life through all those yellow sunsets"), but is far from depressing by the general sound and timbre.

6. Morning Spank
One of the weaker songs on the album, talking about cheating with a friend's girlfriend, a good ode to modern day friendship here! Very catchy and sing-along-able chorus nonetheless.

7. Skate
Another introspective and subdued song here starting with gentle acoustic strumming leading to more electronic sounds. This is but 33 seconds long, so an interlude in the middle of the album I guess.

8. May 26
A song starting with a kinda empty but warm sound. This song is a lament to how he could have acted better ("I never brought you flowers, you never came twice"), and features one of my favourite lines in any song, for reasons I know not ("illicit dealings, with nothing to sell").

9. Give
An epic sounding song, once it gets past the gentle intro, with lyrics seeming to offer morality, or perhaps just an observation on the human race.

10. Daddy
An instantly faster sounding song, with muffled sounding lyrics, and featuring even more muffled soundbites from someone I know not. An enjoyable chorus too.

11. One Day
Back down to the introspection. A very haunting song, sounding almost suicidal ("one day I won't wake up, one day I'll be gone, and the last thing you'll have to remember me, will be the verses of this song"). Lingers in the mind long after the song has finished - in a good way.

12. Crawl
A very foreboding song, with a dark and dirty bassline leading the song in, with dirty but clean strumming over the top, a heavy bass drum and some disturbing lyrics ("are you ready to take it, face-down like a pig?"), the first song I ever heard by him though!

13. 120
Kinda country-and-western sounding, this one, with some whistling going on in the background. I would say that this is a weak point to end the album on, instrumentally, as it seems to just slow fade away, leaving the listener feeling hollow and sad. However, beautiful lyrics ("if I drink just enough I may be happy, if I stay up late enough something might happen"). Oh, then it introduces some strings and ups the tempo, exciting the listener, then fading away again.

Having listened to this album again for the purposes of review, I've discovered that the man is a lyrical genius, this is definitely worth the purchase for the sublime-ness of the lyrics alone!

The album is overall chill-out music I'd say, particularly if you're feeling slightly blue or just knackered, not one for getting ready to go out!

I would definitely recommend it as an essential purchase to anyone with a wide and varied music taste, something to give their collection something to introduce to other people, to spread the word of Custom.
 

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