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...

It's... a sunbeam through a raincloud, isn't it? That’s the initial feeling, anyway. Hal St John and Cherrie Anderson, the British-Filipino duo known as Ooberfuse, have delivered a track that bounces between vibrant pop and something a bit more globally aware. This song feels less like a commercial, and it might just be the flavor needed to add a punch. I was doing some...