Justin Vernon Releases 2 Singles From Forthcoming, Era-Spanning Box Set

Indie titan Justin Vernon, better known as the frontman of the genre-defying band Bon Iver, has released a pair of singles before the unveiling of Epoch, a box set celebrating the history of his origins in Wisconsin group DeYarmond Edison. “hazelton” and “liner” are a duo of gorgeously intricate, acoustic fingerpicking tracks which carry Vernon’s singular, recognizable vocals—with a little extra midwestern twang. The former is the basis for what would eventually become “Holocene,” one of Bon Iver’s most indomitable works of musical art.

DeYarmond Edison was short-lived but essential: It spawned Bon Iver and Megafaun, smoothing over the rough edges of the soon-to-be helmsmen of indie music. The Epoch box set comes with a wealth of biographical and sonic background on the band and its journey—and its eventual, fraught demise.

Check out the visualizer for “hazelton” on YouTube.