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...

The moment the beat drops, you feel it in your chest. It is a heavy, mechanical thud that immediately grabs your attention and refuses to let go. Lakeside X is back, and they are not messing around. After a three year break, the Prague based alternative electronic rock band has returned with "Factory Flowers", a single that hits like a jolt of electricity. It is...