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...

There is a specific kind of frantic energy in Jacob Chacko’s single "Drive Thru Fog And Rain" (from the album "Give Me The Good Stuff") that reminds me of realizing you’re late for a meeting that might change your life, but your foot is tapping against the floor mat anyway. It captures a feeling that is kinetic, nervous, and strangely electric. https://open.spotify.com/album/3nsiOEVBM8JKDEeZ3jlePu?si=jCITTgSDSy-xdDMJWLFuiw Chacko leans hard into...