The In Between, the highly anticipated seventh studio album from Southern Gothic music juggernauts Heathen Apostles, arrives on Friday, July 5th via Ratchet Blade Records. Recorded in a furious creative haze during the early months of 2024, The In Between lives up to its moniker both literally and figuratively; straddling the line in between darkness and light, personal and political, and the concrete past and the unknown future. Check the album out HERE.
Masterfully produced by Chopper Franklin, the album features nine original songs that spin an enchanting spider web of bluegrass, murderfolk, gothic, and spaghetti western influences (with a ethereal cover of the late Mark Lanegan’s “The Gravedigger’s Song” rounding out the tracks to an even ten.) And yet, despite the album’s diversity, The In Between proves to be one of the band’s most cohesive sonic explorations of what Americana music can (and frankly, should) be, all while continuing to develop the band’s intricate musical arrangements and memorable, introspective lyrics. Coupled with eerie postmortem cover portraits painted by lauded fine artist Sean Cheetham, The In Between is sure to rank among the year’s top releases within the Americana underground.
Speaking to the album’s title and corresponding opening track, singer Mather Louth states, “The idea of the ‘in between’ is all about learning to sit with- and eventually befriend- the uncomfortable times of not knowing what is coming next, either within one’s own life or within the collective. Uncertainty is a very ungrounding sensation, and the emotions that arise from that discomfort can be challenging to navigate. Exploring this sense of uncertainty proved cathartic for me, and I hope it will offer that same release for listeners.”
Their previous 6 albums – Boot Hill Hymnal (2013), Fire to the Fuse (2015), Requiem For a Remix (2016), Bloodgrass Vol. 1 & 2 (2018), Dust To Dust (2019) and Bloodgrass Vol. 3 & 4 (2022) – along with their many EPs and singles (their release The Fall was named Best EP of 2018 by Folk n Rock magazine), capture the essence of the Heathen Apostles modus operandi: Southern Gothic music and imagery surrounded by haunting, minor-chord melodies, a myriad of musical influences including Gothic Roots, Bluegrass, Blues, and Gypsy Jazz, all deftly bound together by the band’s dark and sometimes brooding sense of a bygone age.
