Shaken by a Low Sound

Rock energy coexists with old-time mountain soul. Spooky backwoods melodies combine with hip hard-hitting beats. Raw, searing blues riffs intermingle with high heavenly vocals. Sound good? Here's the catch: No electricity. No drums.

Meet Crooked Still, the hot young alternative bluegrass group on a mission to bend the boundaries of traditional music. The unlikely combination of banjo, cello, and double bass drives this low lonesome band, whose soaring vocals and high-wire solos have enraptured audiences all over North America and Ireland since 2001.

Four very unique musical personalities merge to form Crooked Still. Aoife O'Donovan's refined, sultry vocals float over Rushad Eggleston's rumbling cello riffs, Dr. Gregory Liszt's futuristic four-finger banjo rolls and Corey DiMario's pulsing bass lines. The resulting acoustic fusion can warp a traditional American tune to the brink of unrecognizability without sacrificing the authenticity of the original sources. "It's almost like we're going back and making imaginary history," says Eggleston, whose versatile cello style has already sparked a revolution among young cellists. "What if the 1920s Appalachian musicians could've heard the music we hear now?"

What you'll find on 'Shaken by a Low Sound' is precisely what Crooked Still sets out to achieve. Traditional tunes taken to the next level and beyond. Ms. O'Donovan's voice is beyond angelic and the mix with frenetic cello work and other acoustic accompaniment is simply wondrous.