Formed in Dublin in 1990,The Pale began with a unique and unusual style recording a mini album called “Why Go Bald?” which grabbed the attention of both the public and record companies alike. They soon signed on the dotted line with A&M Records and in 1992 The Pale released an award winning debut album (Hot Press awards 1992; Best Single award for Butterfly and Best Album Production) called “Here’s one we made earlier”.

Three singles from this debut soon followed (“Dogs With No Tails”, “Butterfly” and “Shut Up Venus”) launching the band on an international trek which took them the length and breadth of the UK, mainland Europe, Scandinavia and as far afield as Japan and the USA taking in many festivals including Glastonbury and Transmusicales.

1994 saw the band depart from the world of major record companies to pursue a more independent path by creating their own label. The vehicle of Gudenfast Records was to carry the hopes of the band for the next three albums, Cheapside (1996), Cripplegate (1997) and Spudgun (1998), which was enough for the band to see out the remainder of the twentieth century.

Lead Singer Matthew Devereux released a solo record called “Tap Tap Tap”(2003) on the highly respected dance label Psychonavigation Records. In typical Pale fashion this album was in the improbable genre of experimental electronica. Normal service resumed for The Pale when they released “Lonely Space Age”(2004) followed by a comprehensive tour schedule. So it was with a newfound determination that The Pale launched into a new stage of their career releasing The Final Garden EP on Devereux Records in 2005, which gave a hint of the musical and lyrical torrent to come.

The Pale found a new home with the excellent Irish independent label “1969 Records”.
They have so far released two well-respected albums on this label “The Contents Of A Shipwreck”(2007) and “Proper Order”(2009). These albums saw The Pale grow into a more mature an even more interesting proposition. In place of their former quirkiness, the band have cultivated an elegant new sound offering irrefutable proof that sometimes musicians are at their most articulate in their autumn years.

The Pale’s music has always remained accessible with natural pop tendencies,
but some hilarious terms have been coined along the way in a vain effort to describe an elusive sound that is more esoteric than most of their contemporaries. “Polk” (a fusion of punk and folk), “zoukibilly” (rockabilly with bouzoukis) and “punkranian” are just a few of the phrases conjured up by some of the more inventive journalists. “Tom Waits at a Bar Mitzvah”, quipped one enthusiastic scribe, while another equally inventive journalist likened the experience of a Pale gig to that of seeing “a Ukrainian wedding band on acid”.

Over the last twenty years, The Pale have also had the pleasure of supporting some very eclectic acts most notably The Frames, Antony and the Johnson’s and The Beautiful South. The band have also worked with many different musicians who have added some interesting ingredients to the Pale sound, while the mainstay of the group has remained Matthew Devereux (Vocals), Shane Wearen (Mandolin) and Darren Flynn (Bass).

Indeed, if necessity is the mother of invention, then The Pale have always found it necessary to think outside the box. In an effort to satiate their broad musical leanings The Pale has used many different traditional instruments. Mandolin, bouzouki, Turkish oud, banjo, viola and sitar have all made an appearance on Pale recordings, but not always played in the “traditional” way.

The songs are literate, lyrical and passionate. You will certainly remember the sound of The Pale, once you hear it.

A brand new album from The Pale called “I Woke Up And I Was Gone” was recently recorded in the Czech republic and will be released in 2011.

Totally Dublin
July 2007

The prodigal sons return. Way back in the early 1990s The Pale was the band of the moment, when the carbon footprint of the London A&R departments rose dramatically over Dublin and deservedly so. Killer tunes like I Am The Butterfly and Dogs With No Tails were pop nuggets and the 4 piece duly landed a deal with A&M, had hits in Ireland, France and Turkey with the above, and a hit album Here’s One We Made Earlier. Unfortunately it never really happened beyond that but their unique sound that incorporated mandolins, guitars, a slew of ethnic instruments and electronic percussion never dated so maybe now is their time. Whatever the career intentions it’s clear Matthew Devereux (vocals) and Shane Wearen (Mandolin) are having fun with their music. The Contents Of A Shipwreck is a party album of sorts; full of colour with infectious melodies and dance beats that sound like The Beat covering Tom Waits all underpinned by Devereux’s sharp lyrical style. Always one of the most literate and outspoken of Irish writers Devereux shines again with aselection of urban tales swathed in a quasi marine/religious shtick that allows him to indulge in lyrical flights of fancy while digging his angst-dripping knife into the soft underbelly of contemporary Ireland. Wearen’s playing throughout is a joy as is the superb contribution of Colm Quearney (a.k.a Q) on guitars and bass, the two providing the main rhythmic thrust of a record that calypso’s over the Caribbean seas down to the tango waters of the Southern Hemisphere. The overall effect can be quite theatrical at especially when the gypsy rhythms don a Nick Cave cloak of darkness as on the scurvy ridden Steadfast Captain and the superb, sultry highlight Joan Of Arc On Broadway. An album packed with singles – Elizabeth In Rags, The New Resistance, Church Of Bones et al – The Contents Of A Shipwreck is a welcome return by an oft missed, much needed band. John Brereton

Hot Press
31st of May 2007

Back in the 1990s,The Pale were hailed as Ireland’s next big thing, adored for their quirky blend of European rhythms, mandolins, a drum machine, bald heads, a bag of esoteric tunes and Matthew Devereux’s distinctive vocals.Frustrated by record company woes, among other things, it didn’t last and they called it a day.Now, with an album deal under their belts, the core twosome of Devereux and Shane Wearen are back in earnest,supported by a revolving line-up that includes guitar maestro Colm Quearney. Regular jaunts to the Balkans have turned them on further to the ethnic music of the region, while the band also continue their love affair with ska and reggae.The trailer single ‘Elizabeth In Rags’ is a bit of a Dexy’s-style knees-up, driven by Wearen’s mandolin and it works well, while the disturbing ‘Steadfast Captain’ would fit snugly in the Leonard Cohen canon (and that’s meant as a big compliment). Musically it’s impressively diverse.There’s the lilting reggae of the title track, a tune called ‘Church Of Bones’ which is as bluegrass as Kentucky, while the sumptuous ‘Joan Of Arc On Broadway’ is achingly beautiful in a sultry Brechtian kind of way.Meanwhile, there’s a hint of foreboding about ‘The Serpent Song’ in which Devereux waxes lyrical about not going into the forest and staying”out from under those dark canopies”. While there’s nothing likely to eclipse the might of ‘Butterfly’ or ‘Dogs With No Tails’,There’s a sturdiness to the new material that wasn’t as evident the first time around. File under Welcome Back. 7 out of 10 Jackie Hayden

The Star
June 6th 2007

The title of The Pale’s first album in Donkey’s years may sound a tad sombre, but rest assured that the contents here are more sunken treasure than washed-up wreckage.
The lads-now reduced to a duo-have a devoted following built up since they formed back in 1990. The long-awaited comeback proves more than worthy of their legacy and continues their love of ‘ethnic fusion’ and the sounds of ska. This is a more diverse Pale however,with stylistic leaps throughout,from the beautiful ‘Joan of Arc on Broadway’ to uplifting single ‘Elizabeth In Rags’. It’s good to have them back, even if they never really went away.

Metro Magazine
30th of May 2007

As the cult duo behind early 1990s hits Butterfly and Dogs with No Tails, Matthew Devereux and Shane Wearen always walked the line between quirky popsters and inane novelty group. Now they’re back, with a new album and a new, more sophisticated sound.Devereux in particular, seems to have renounced the role of zany entertainer,emerging as a singer of unexpected depth and nuance. This is clear from the single Elizabeth In Rags, a brisk folk tune that sees Wearen thunking his mandolin as if it were a heavy metal guitar and Devereux delivering a stark vocal. Later, they slow the tempo-The New Resistance is the sort of wrenching, torch song you may have believed The Pale entirely incapable of writing. As comebacks go, then, The Contents Of A Shipwreck is one of constant, delightful suprise.
4 out of 5 stars - Eamon de Paor

Lonesome Highway Magazine
Volume 2 Number 8
July 2007

The Pale are back with a new album that adds even more to their reputation. It has a more understated sound from the trio who mix acoustic instruments with a fuller band sound that is,sometimes, rounded out by trumpet, keyboards and whistles. The songs are literate and lyrical, tinged with theatricality.The title track has a nice reggae lilt that makes it immediately memorable. Another highlight is the European touches on Joan Of Arc On Broadway. This is an album that should be investigated if one not strictly within this magazine’s remit, but that hasn’t stopped us recommending albums in the past.
Stephen Rapid

METRO Newspaper
Thurs 21st May, 2009

From the unexpected return of Blur to the surprisingly convincing resurrection of Take That and Boyzone, 1990s nostalgia is heavy in the air at the moment – so it’s probably as good a time as ever for The Pale to release the best album of their career. Still dogged by the ‘wacky’ tag that has followed them since their once inescapable 1992 hit Dogs with no Tails, the Dublin four-piece long ago grew into a more mature and interesting proposition (without abandoning that trademark mandolin) – and Proper Order offers irrefutable proof that sometimes musicians are at their most articulate in their autumn years. In place of their former quirkiness, the band have cultivated an elegiac new sound – You Play Indie Music feels like a recently rediscovered new wave nugget; Catholic Credit Card belies its naff title with a swoonful, Rufus Wainwright-esque chorus illuminated by Matthew Devereux’s Lloyd Cole-esque croon. Best of all is the album’s sign-off, Paris In The 21st Century, a wistful ballad with a melody that lingers long after the music has ended.
Review by Eamon de Paor **** 4/5 stars

“The Pale probably should have become a massive band in the early 90s due to their original and distinct qualities. I loved their early tunes but for whatever reason [financial probably!] I simply never got round to buying an album and only caught the band live for the first time in The Academy before Christmas. The Pale released their 8th [or 9th depending on source!] studio album entitled Proper Order earlier this month. I have to admit that I am really enjoying Proper Order. It sounds exactly what a ‘The Pale’ album should sound like. We have strong vocals, quality thoughtful lyrics, mandolin infused melodies and simply a great set of tunes. I love the first three tracks which deal with the realities of being in a band. There’s the plight of being a support act, getting noticed by the local area and having to deal with advances and temptations. Proper Order then kicks into the 2008 single Chocolate Factory which is the best pop tune on the album. The rest of the album includes many references to modern Ireland with the lyrics becoming very subjective. ‘Beauty in the Riot’ for example creates for me many images of love, clarity, chaos and acceptance. Proper Order is a consistently strong album if a little on the short side at just under 30 minutes! But hey I’m always told it’s quality not length that’s important! If like me you haven’t got round to acquiring an album from ‘The Pale’, let me recommend you start with Proper Order. 9 out of 12 - 2uibestow - MixTape4Melfi

Watch the video for "Butterfly"

Watch the video for "Lights Out Boys"

Watch the video for "Dogs With No Tails"

Watch the video for "Chocolate Factory"

Watch the video for "Remember the Night"

Watch the video for "You Play Indie Music"

Click on an image for the Hi-Res version

Listen to streaming audio from "The Contents of a Shipwreck"

Listen to streaming audio from "Proper Order"

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