Music: Still Crooked by Crooked Still

This is an incredible album… if you like progressive/alternative bluegrass. There’s plenty of fiddle and banjo, but absolutely no twang. Aoife O’Donovan’s vocals are incredibly smooth and captivating. Combine those smooth vocals with solid instrumentation on banjo, cello, and fiddle… you’ve got some beautiful arrangements and stunning sounds.

I’m a huge fan of Nickel Creek, but Crooked Still gives them a big run for their money… right now at least, Still Crooked is my new favorite bluegrass album. Granted… I have very few favorites in the bluegrass variety since I’m a bluegrass neophyte. For years, I was pretty sure I hated bluegrass, but then I encountered Nickel Creek and the Avett Brothers and I thought to myself that this is not the bluegrass I was familiar with. And, well, it isn’t… it’s “progressive” or “alternative” as some call it.

Honestly, I think we could just call it newgrass or contemporary bluegrass - these are all young artists keeping a good bit of the old, but bringing in some great chord progressions, instrumental combos, and compelling vocals. Still Crooked offers all of this with striking variety. There’s some numbers that can almost pass for blues, some that can almost pass for soft rock or jazz, and some that are most certainly folk-oriented. With that variety - they still hold it together and never sound like a different band.

Even if you aren’t a bluegrass fan, I would recommend you give these folks a listen. It’s good stuff.

Note: They do some old-time gospel on this album, but this is not an album inside the Christian music bubble. Some great stuff on here.