Rebecca Anderson’s new single, "In the Beginning," lands with the quiet insistence of finding an unexpected patch of vibrant green moss flourishing on a stark city sidewalk – something natural and enduring where you didn't anticipate it. This is Soulful R&B from the LA-based, classically trained artist, but it carries an unusual stillness, a contemplative core. Anderson isn't aiming for chart-storming bombast; instead, the...

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...