Crooked Still: Hop High

Crooked Still plays traditional songs with a contemporary sensibility. Like Gillian Welch, the young band makes old music sound new. "Hop High" is seductive and exciting. Aoife O'Donovan's gauzy voice rips through Welch's "Orphan Girl" as the banjo races and the bass and cello groove. The unusual instrumentation gives the music a dark, mysterious sound. These guys can play: Cellist Rushad Eggleston was nominated for a Grammy with band Fiddlers 4, O'Donovan sings with the jazz/bluegrassy Wayfaring Strangers, and Bela Fleck asked to learn Greg Liszt's banjo technique. O'Donovan's voice is alternately silky and cat's-tongue rough. Eggleston's cello grunts rhythm like a bass, then saws through a solo like a fiddle. There are no shrinking violets in "Hop High" -- the rebellious "Lulu Gal" hangs with "rough and rowdy men" and "Flora" drives a man to destruction. "Hop High" ends with a rousing singalong. Thanks to appearances at two major folk festivals and this fine album, Crooked Still is poised to break out. The group plays the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday.