Gothic Western EP Review by Luminous Dash zine – Featuring ex-members from Radio Noir (Mather Louth, vocals), The Cramps, Mau Maus and Nick Curran & The Lowlifes (Chopper Franklin on guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards, drums), Kings of Nuthin’ (Thomas Lorioux, bass) and top violinist Luis Mascaro, Heathen Apostles was formed in Los Angeles and born of the voices of past lives and baptized in the dust bowl dirt. They settle into a sound that merges the contrasts between goth and Americana in a darkly rooted bohemian country atmosphere.
The Heathen Apostles is band that never seems to rest on its laurels, as you can see from their many energetic live performances and a whole series of albums, EPs and singles in their discography. This year they had a string of canceled and postponed concerts, but it gave them the opportunity to record their new EP Prayers Before The Plague. They played, and filmed, a live set at the headquarters / home of the band ‘The Devil’s Doghouse’ in Echo Park (California), included the six tracks that ended up on Prayers Before The Plague. And although nothing can match playing in front of a live audience, on the EP we find the hard driven emotions of passionate musicians on every track. “It is the band’s gift to a world that has almost no live music for most of this year. It’s also a reminder of the importance of music itself, be it bad or good times. Music and art must continue and survive ”, they say.
“Without A Trace” is immediately a strong opener, showing the authentic sound of the foursome. Excitingly lively, the violin immediately takes us on a tour along southern dry roads, where the warm dark timbre of the dark diva Mather Louth works out for a devilish side, as well as for sweet playful indulgence.
“Death’s Head” sounds a lot darker. With a raw bass line and light grit on the microphone, this track sets the perfect soundtrack for a night in which you look death, the devil and your demons straight in the eye and continue to travel your own way with those country boots with determination.
“The song seems fitting for these troubled times, but it seems like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel,” the band explains about Drowned In Trouble . An up tempo track full of rhythm, where the vocals are loaded with melancholy while the strings keep flirting along.
“Two For The Road” sounds defiantly brutal , while “The Reckoning” sounds theatrically brutal, just because the instrumental is so rich and heavy and the roughness here brings a certain mystique to the song. “Paint The Stars” ends in a bluegrass atmosphere in embracing softness.
An EP that bathes in a country and gypsy atmosphere, but with a dark, almost bloody edge. Although we lack the experience, Prayers Before The Plague may look a bit like a night with Nick Cave and Johnny Cash. A musical threesome between overheated, dark sheets filled with melancholy and spunk, which may end in a murder ballad …
The EP Prayers Before The Plague has been released digitally on the Ratchet Blade Records label.
