It’s been a little over ten years since Sharon Van Etten released her second album Epic in late 2010. Now she is getting ready to commemorate the release with Epic Ten, an anniversary reissue that drops on April 16 and features covers of the entire album.
For the covers set, Van Etten enlisted Big Red Machine (Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner), Idles, Lucinda Williams, Shamir, Courtney Barnett and Vagabon, St. Panther, and Fiona Apple. Big Red Machine’s album-opening cover of “A Crime” has been shared today while the rest of the songs will be unveiled every Thursday in the lead-up to the album.
Van Etten says of the anniversary release:
“Epic represents a crossroads for me as an artist — going from intern to artist at Ba Da Bing, from solo folk singer to playing with a band for the first time and beginning to play shows on tour where people showed up. I am in awe of the artists who wanted to participate in celebrating my anniversary and reissue, from young inspiring musicians, to artists who took me under their wing, who I met on tour, and to artists I’ve looked up to since I was a teenager. Each one of these artists continue to influence my writing and provide a sense of camaraderie during this new era of sharing music.”
Dessner also offered a statement, saying:
“Sharon is one of my favorite songwriters and I’ve been very lucky to get to collaborate with her many times over the years. Recording ‘A Crime’ with Justin, more than 10 years after we covered ‘Love More’ at Music Now with my brother Bryce — and thinking about all our shared memories — it felt like coming full circle. It’s an honor to be able to pay tribute to Sharon and her incredible songs. We felt like the door should be about to fall off the hinges of this version and I think it sounds like that.”
Listen to Big Red Machine’s “A Crime” cover above and check out the Epic Ten art and tracklist below.
1. Big Red Machine — “A Crime”
2. Idles — “Peace Signs”
3. Lucinda Williams — “Save Yourself”
4. Shamir — “DsharpG”
5. Courtney Barnett “Don’t Do It”
6. St. Panther — “One Day”
7. Fiona Apple — “Love More”
Epic Ten is out 4/16 via Ba Da Bing. Pre-order it here.
