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...

Can a winding river be hopeful? By its very nature, it doesn’t know where it might encounter calm, rapids, or an abrupt tumble into the abyss of a waterfall. Yet, as I pressed play on Jacre's latest offering, "Just Hold On", I’m reminded of rivers with their relentless journey—steady but vibrant, deliberate yet turbulent, all flowing toward eventual peace. This single pulses with that...