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Reviews

METRO Newspaper, Thurs 21st May, 2009

Proper Order
1969records
Review by Eamon de Paor **** 4/5 stars

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.

Eamon de Paor

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 2010.