Matthew Devereux releases new single 'Halloween' from his latest solo album 'Keep Sketch'
Halloween is the latest single to be taken from Matthew Devereux's recent solo album entitled 'Keep Sketch' An album that Tony Clayton-Lea recently included in his 10 best Irish albums of 2025 so far list in Tony's The Irish Times Culture column at the time of its release
.
Halloween is one of ten brand new songs that recount stories of growing up on the northside of Dublin with all songs written, performed, and produced by Matthew and were recorded solely using electronic instruments appropriate to that era..'Keep Sketch' is the follow up to last year's first real solo album 'House Devil'.and is independently released on Matthew's own House Devil Record Label.
Best known for his work as the frontman for the legendary Irish band, The Pale, who brought us the legendary Irish classics 'Butterfly' and 'Dogs With No Tails' that were taken from their classic 1992 debut album Here's One We Made Earlier which has recently been proudly featured in Paul McDermot's To Here Knows When - Classic Irish Albums Revised podcast alongside a long list of Irish music's greatest ever albums.
"There were a lot of scorch marks from Halloween bonfires left behind on greens, fields and
roads when I was growing up. Everyone in my area donated to the bonfires for weeks beforehand and local anticipation really built as the stacks grew higher.
This song is about the beauty in the anarchy of Halloween night in Coolock." Matthew Devereux
Halloween is available to stream and download from Bandcamp and all usual streaming platforms from Friday, October 31st
What stands out is Devereux’s uncluttered music, which allows the songs to shine. There's smart Krautrock here (Seven Grams), touches of Being Boiled - era Human League there (Keep Sketch) and understated hints of Depeche Mode elsewhere (Government Milk). The result is a toned - down album from a songwriter who merits more attention. Tony Clayton-Lea, The Irish Times
“Already known as the dynamic force of The Pale, Devereux presents the other side of his creativity. Intimate, more gentle, darker and haunting yet still containing razor sharp lyrics” Music of the heart.
“Still has the wit, intelligent and clarity of vision to still get his points across” The Goo
Dublin born Matthew Devereux has been actively making music since 1990, beginning with the formation of the much-loved Dublin band The Pale who immediately began to captivate audiences with their energetic live shows which quickly led to a bidding war between numerous record labels battling to sign them up.
Eventually signing with A&M Records and releasing their debut album Here’s One We Made Earlier in 1992, the album featured the classic Irish singles 'Butterfly’ And ‘Dogs With No Tails’ They have toured the world extensively and have made a dozen albums to date and recently celebrated their 30th anniversary in the music industry and released a career spanning best of collection entitled ‘Paleanthology.’
The Pale have always been known for their genre jumping musical stylings and experimenting with idiosyncratic instrumentation and continuing in this spirit of experimentation, Matthew released an album of instrumental ambient electronic music in 2003 entitled ‘Tap, Tap, Tap which received great critical acclaim on its release. 2024 eventually saw Matthew release a follow up Solo album of original songs entitled House Devil.
