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...

Lexi Berg plunges us willingly "In So Deep," her latest single offering a welcome submersion into the heady waters of shared existence. This London-based, Swedish-American artist wields a voice that carries its own weather system – there’s a satisfying rasp there, less a flaw, more like the unique grain in reclaimed timber, lending strength and character. The song itself claims indie pop territory, nodding...