Heathen Apostles – Reading Facebar – 16 July 2025 – It’s a welcome return to the Facebar for LA’s seminal gothic americana band Heathen Apostles. This is their third appearance at the venue in as many years and they continue to win more followers each visit.

Looking like the meanest bunch of ne’er-do-well gunslinging musicians to walk out of a Sergio Leone film, Heathen Apostles take to the stage to wow the audience with their gothic americana. Former Cramps man, Chopper Franklin on guitar/mandolin is augmented by Luis Mascaro’s fiddle and Thomas Lorioux on upright bass to creating a soundtrack that wouldn’t sound out of place in a decadent saloon in ‘Deadwood’. Singer and guitarist, Mather Louth brings a dark alluring glamour to the lineup with a vocal style that is infused with the emotiveness of Patsy Cline and Nick Cave’s old-testament preacher.

Opening with the fiddle dominated ‘Paint the Stars’, the band start a career spanning set that includes numerous murder ballads, up to date political comment and a splattering of cover versions. ‘Death’s Head’ sees Mather and the band channeling the whole of the Bad Seeds ‘Murder Ballads’ album into one magnificent song. The slower but still epic ‘The Gods of Men’ from the recent ‘The In Between’ album is followed by the alt country of ‘Black Hawk’.    For my generation, Alex Cox is a fascinating but flawed director of films such as ‘Repo Man’ and ‘Sid and Nancy’. He was also the presenter of ‘Moviedrome’ on BBC2 in the late eighties/early nineties showcasing numerous cult films across its run. A great deal of my viewing habits has been influenced by his recommendations, and to hear that he is using the band’s ‘Careful What You Pray For’ in his upcoming ‘Dead Souls’ film has piqued my interest. The song itself sees the return of Mather’s southern preacher, spaghetti western guitar and some frenetic fiddling from Luis.

‘Drowned in Trouble’ keeps the tempo going with a wonderfully melodic vocal from Mather. ‘Capital T’ is one of the band’s more political songs and is musically more laid back with a rockabilly shuffle forming the song’s base. Next, we are in bluegrass territory with a cover of Hank Williams’ ‘Ramblin’ Man’. ‘Shadow of the Crows’ ups the pace again with the narrative of a remorseless and vengeful protagonist. ‘Lily of the West’ is a classic tale of obsession and betrayal whilst the brooding ‘Tall Rider’ reminisces on a life long lived.

‘In the Blood’ sees a man awaiting his fate as the gallows swing in the wind. Hank Williams makes a second appearance with an enthralling cover of ‘Long Gone Lonesome Blues’. We’re into the home stretch and given how hot the venue is tonight, we are certainly ready for a drink and ‘Two for the Road’. The set finishes with the frantic stomp of ‘Without a Trace’ which could soundtrack a gothic hoedown.

The band return to the stage for the melancholic ‘Easy Come Easy Go’, before Luis gives us a blast of Bach’s ‘Toccato in D minor’ on his violin to introduce the full gothic onslaught of ‘The Reckoning’. It’s a glorious cacophony of sound with the full band letting rip as Mather brings the end of days to a western town.  I’ve never been disappointed by Heathen Apostles live and tonight was no different – another enthralling appearance. They’re playing Rebellion next month and Tomorrow’s Ghosts later in the year. I recommend a detour to see them if you are at either festival.

Text and Photos by Ian Ladlow