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 Devereaux’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 Devereaux 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 Devereaux 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 first time round. File under Welcome Back.