Crooked Still: Shaken by a Low Sound

Mandolin? No. Guitar? Sparingly on two tracks. Cello? You bet your arse. Boston-based quartet Crooked Still are bluegrass experimentalists, not mere new grass revivalists, taking traditional American roots music and — through inventively fresh arrangements, adding that unlikely cello to banjo, sumptuous harmony vocals, and double-bass, with occassional fiddle — deliver a deep-down-in-the-barrel acoustic sound that rocks the foundations of classic songs, such as the 1920s murder ballad “Little Sadie” and the gospel-blues recording “Ain’t No Grave”, without losing their authenticity. When these classically trained musicians cut loose on their sophomore release and yield up gems like a party-stompin’ version of Bob Dylan’s “Oxford Town”, or the toe-tappin’, smoky-jazz take on Bill Monroe’s “Can’t You Hear Me Callin'”, you begin to wonder why no one ever thought about dragging a cello up into the Appalachians back in the day. But then, maybe the answer is in the question.