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...

Shyfrin Alliance’s single "Buddha Blues" drifts in like smoke under a door, carrying a peculiar scent – maybe old books and roadside diners? Founded by the rather polymathic Eduard Shyfrin (whose credentials span authorship, science, and classical piano), the project tackles big ideas, and this track is no exception. It sets up shop right at the crossroads of fleeting intimacy and determined solitude. https://open.spotify.com/album/4P9DJeygqxYfBxUIrC1gwZ?si=zhE5YvnCTma5rOKP0z7y1g There’s a...