Marketing associate by day, writer by night, and honest Christian 24/7, contemporary folk singer Abbey Sitterley has recently released her first album. It is self-titled, it is the real deal, and it is really, really good.

An independent artist in every sense of the word, Sitterley is definitely not cut from the monochrome "praise and worship" crowd cloth of overblown choruses and underdeveloped lyrics. Consider her self-penned bio:

My Christian faith is my core, so you’ll find much of my work flows outward from that source, but I also tend to dabble in social commentary, literary criticism, and the occasional short story. 

I believe our world is, as Flannery O’Connor coined, “Christ-haunted”: shadowed by an Other that remains a firm foundation despite whether or not we assent to call Him Lord. This tension between faith and doubt is the impulse my work attempts to tap into, playing with ideas as a kind of liturgy.

So if you, too, can’t help but see theological themes in the X Files, enjoy philosophical chats over a pint, and love asking the big questions, we’ll get along great. 

Musically, as mentioned, Sitterley is solidly entrenched in the contemporary folk genre. Her style is effortless on the ears without dropping into clichéd manipulative efforts overrun with minor chords and minor league kvetching about most everyone and everything. Her tunes are comfortable without being derivative, and her voice is plaintive yet warm. Based on music appeal alone, Sitterley is an artist well worth a listen. But her lyrical gift lifts her artistry from appealing to awesome.

Sitterley skillfully uses the freedom the folk genre encourages for lyrical observation both without and within. She kicks off the album with “Waiting,” a tastefully orchestrated tune that immediately gets to its point of shared desire for something greater than life without Christ can ever offer.

up here in the city there’s a pressure to keep moving
and i feel like i am falling behind
like i’m standing still

if silence is a virtue, i’ve been saving all my sinning
bottled up for this moment when speech is wearing thin

aren’t you yearning
aren’t you longing too
a new beginning
all things to be made new

Sitterley is just warming up. In “Stay Awake,” her telling of Christ’s passion in the Garden of Gethsemane makes it real -- for both when it happened and today, whenever we put Jesus on the back burner.

gethsemane night
head bowed in the moonlight
for the cup that is yours to drink

“pray with me, my friends”
as we nod off again
such courage within your sheep

and oh again we desert you
though you cry out for us to cling near you

A further example is “West Coast.” When was the last time you heard a song by a Christian about relationships suitable for anything save a wedding ceremony, let alone discussing the aftermath of one gone sour? For that matter, when was the last time you heard one Christian say to another in song, “Yeah, you messed up”? Sitterley tackles both these topics with straightforward aplomb. No grandiose swelling “I’ve been through the valley” whining, no fond farewell to what once might have been. Instead, there is refreshing honesty, while closing the door needing to be closed.

they say i could be greater
but i listen for the voice of my maker
this too shall pass, the swelling of the tide 

so this is life
must not be doing it right
just waiting to die 

i took my woes and headed for the west coast
i left no number, left no place to post
you never felt to me as someone close
i’m at it alone

There is openness in Sitterley’s music, the likes of which has seldom been heard in music by Christians since the late Mark Heard. Sitterley isn’t reinventing the wheel. Instead, she is reintroducing the truth. Sometimes, even for the most powerful believers, there are struggles of and with faith. Sometimes, it’s okay to admit you’re hurting and need answers above and beyond the usual. Sometimes, we get our hearts broken, and we need solace. This album can help with that.

 So, next Sunday morning, whether you’re spending your time prepping for church or trying to rejoin the living after one more Saturday night, Abbey Sitterley’s self-titled debut album is the perfect soundtrack for rejoicing, reflection, or recovery.

The album is available on the artist’s Bandcamp page and most streaming services.