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Music Review: Crooked Still

They met in college in Massachusetts and now record together as Crooked Still.

by Katrina A. Yeager

"We call ourselves a funky string band," says lead vocalist Aoife O'Donovan. Their bluegrass and old-time tradition tunes are ones you'll recognize . . . but not quite. "We put a new spin on old material," says double bassist Corey DiMario.

What makes Crooked Still a New England band?

Corey: We all met in Boston [while at the New England Conservatory, Berklee, and MIT]. The rest of the band still lives in Boston. I live in Brattleboro [Vermont] now, but I'm a Massachusetts native.

Aoife: I'm a true old New Englander. I have roots dating to the Salem witches. I'm a direct descendant of Rebecca Nurse.

What sets you apart from other bands?

Aoife: Our instrumentation. We have a cello, which not a lot of other bands have. Corey: . . . and in not having a guitar [on most tracks]. The sound is sort of stripped down and has a lot of low end. It presents a feeling.

What's your favorite track on your newest CD Shaken by a Low Sound (released by Whately, Massachusetts-based Signature Sounds Recordings)?

Aoife: "Come On in My Kitchen." It captures what our band is all about. It's so real. We're not trying to be anything but what we are.