Decamping to his father's cabin in the middle of the north Wisconsin woods after
the break-up of a long term relationship, Justin Vernon drew on the wilderness
of his surroundings and poured out his heart into song. Three months of hunting,
cold weather and rural isolation resulted in cathartic self-therapy and the
stark debut album For Emma, Forever Ago (2008). Using a misspelling of bon hiver
(French for good winter) as a pseudonym, he self-released 500 copies of the
album before being picked up by indie label Jagjaguwar. Led by the fragile,
folky honesty of tracks like "Skinny...