Take Jack Horton, a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose path to folk-Americana included stops at Japanese law school, Tokyo piano bars, corporate boardrooms, and government offices. His latest EP, "Imperfections," feels like finding someone's private journal set to music. And that someone happens to write really, really well. The five-song collection opens with "Set Me Free," a piano-driven confession that might surprise anyone expecting typical breakup bitterness. Horton...

Peter Spacey's "All I Want Is You To Stay" has materialised, not so much as a song, but as an intricate emotional schematic set to a rather compelling pulse. It’s always a peculiar kind of revelation when a producer, traditionally a sonic puppeteer hidden behind the grand curtain of the mixing desk, steps into their own vocal spotlight. Spacey, known for shaping soundscapes for...