Epic Ten＜Colored Vinyl＞

Sharon Van Etten celebrated the tenth anniversary of her second album Epic by reissuing the record as Epic Ten. The difference between the two albums? Epic Ten contains the original album plus covers of its seven songs performed by a variety of different artists. The marquee names are Fiona Apple, Courtney Barnett, and Lucinda Williams, with IDLES, Shamir, Big Red Machine and St. Panther rounding out the lineup. From the moment this new take on Epic opens with Big Red Machine plowing through A Crime, its clear that this version is bigger, louder, and more immediate than Van Ettens, yet theres still a sense of intimacy in the performances. Its there in Apples full-throated Love More, Barnetts wry delivery on Dont Do It, and the bittersweet closing One Day by St. Panther. Offering a newly recorded version of Epic by a bunch of different artists turns out to not only be a clever idea, but it also shows how versatile and strong Van Ettens writing is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine