In the summer of 2005, four friends left Wisconsin for North Carolina with a singular goal: to outrun their folk-rock doldrums. During a year of intense focus, study, and vulnerability, they did exactly that, reaching toward the ecstatic edge of New Weird America by trying out a little of everything – grindcore and gospel, free jazz and phase pieces, bluegrass and blues – and packing it into DeYarmond Edison.

One member went home to begin what would become Bon Iver, while three stayed put to start Megafaun. ‘Epoch’ is the story of DeYarmond Edison: Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Justin Vernon and Joe Westerlund, told as never before.

The collection comprises four CDs, five LPs, dozens of unheard recordings and unseen photos. It’s accompanied by an extensive 55,000-word biography from writer and cohort Grayson Haver Currin, who also serves as executive producer to the collection.

All told, Epoch captures the time before these four friends became two revelatory other bands. It’s a tale of community, vision, family, and a quartet that wanted to be too good to last. There are moments of experimentation, subtle twists in the fuzz of ‘Epoch’ and stomping approach to covering ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ that lay the groundwork for how both Bon Ver and Megafaun would turn acoustic music somewhat inside out. But much of ‘Epoch’ underlines the group’s unique lens for American Songwriting, for taking its patchworks, finding the chords, and singing your heart out. ‘Trials, Troubles, Tribulations’ is one example. Best known as a buried treasure duet from Justin Vernon and Sharon Van Etten, it comes back to life here in sprawling ‘Last Waltz’ style, with vocals from Megafaun, Justin Vernon, Frazy Ford and Fight the Big Bull.

Each disc is a crash course in everything that built that specific body of music: photos from backyards and basements; essays detailing specific recordings; colour palettes evoking time and place. At over seven hours and 55,000 words, ‘Epoch’ is a maximalist collection. But you don’t have to be completist to connect with what it means to hunker down with your best friends and make things, and dream for those things, and learn and struggle and grow.

Package features include 114-page perfect bound book; symbols for each LP articulating dynamics within the band at that LP’s time period; six additional essays each corresponding to songs on its respective LP; lyrics to every original track and all of the credits; individual LP jackets and LP-sized jacket housing four CDs with custom digital download coupon.