ALBUM REVIEW: Andrea von Kampen’s ‘Sister Moon’ Beckons to Stop, Look, and Listen

The beauty of Andrea von Kampen’s music is also responsible for its most frustrating aspect: that it makes no demands.

Von Kampen’s deeply rooted plainsong is all too easily washed out in a digital era where distractions and doomscrolling force popular music to bend into consumable shapes or depend on marketing gimmickry. But for those with the discipline to lean in, to carve out space and time for the sake of sincere listening, the mindfulness of von Kampen’s craftsmanship is a lasting reward.

Sister Moon is von Kampen’s latest album, a set of songs informed by a greater historic understanding of her Christian faith (aided by St. Francis of Assisi) and author Richard Powers’ celebrated masterwork The Overstory. Both inspirational pillars marvel at the beauty of the created order and concern themselves with humanity’s responsible stewardship of it.

 From the first notes of the title track, which opens the new album, von Kampen sets forth with a light and lovely request: “The spirit blows where it will / So can I get a little over here.” It’s stunning in its simplicity and reveals the tension found in more than one place on Sister Moon, a humbled songwriter cognizant of the wider world and still holding out hope that her needs and questions matter in the grander scheme.

“Juniper” asks tough questions of those open to a challenge. “Why can’t we see the trees for the woods just once? / Not worrying how to use it all,” sings von Kampen. More heartening yet impactful lines can be found in “A Fox, A Bird,” where “Bonnie,” the song’s subject, is credited with the recognition that the animals around her “know how to live better than I do.”

Various viewpoints are given voice on Sister Moon around the same core subjects. The protagonist in “Cedar Street” is blissfully unaware of a planet in crisis with von Kampen’s refrain, “If there was a problem / Some would have already screamed / Fire on the inside.” “Wonder” provides a potential antidote to such ignorance by suggesting, “Let’s tell a good story / Change a person’s mind / A tree is just a road between the earth and sky.”

Andrea Von Kampen (photo by Analise Schrader)

With its restrained organic instrumentation, Sister Moon’s 10 songs, each hovering around three minutes, can pass by in no time at all. That’s not to say they’re disinteresting, but even the sonic flourishes come alive only when you stop and stare. The violin work by Jessica Hanson on “Such Love Does,” Bobby Scharmann’s anchoring bass lines on “Robin,” and the robust, full-band feel of “Cottonwood” all provide notable musical moments.

For those looking for touchpoints, you’ll resonate with von Kampen if you’re also a fan of Sarah Siskind, Mindy Smith, Sarah Harmer, or other such meaningful artists. There’s also a reason von Kampen has opened for The Tallest Man on Earth, Punch Brothers, and Bonny Light Horseman. Each song on Sister Moon rewards the patient listener, a series of scenic overlooks positioned along a mountain route to pause and appreciate the vista.

Andrea von Kampen’s Sister Moon is out March 15.