Jack Horton arrives at a curious cultural moment. In 2025, as social media algorithms push us toward perfection and polish, here comes a Portland-based songwriter-pianist with an EP literally titled Imperfections. The audacity feels refreshing, almost rebellious.
Horton, formerly known as Cullen Jack, channels influences ranging from Jim Croce and David Foster to Ed Sheeran and Morgan Wallen, but his artistic DNA runs deeper than stylistic borrowing.
This is someone who spent years in Tokyo piano bars, working through Japanese law school one weekend gig at a time, before eventually abandoning legal practice for the precarious art of songwriting. That biographical arc informs every note of Imperfections.
The EP’s opening track, “Set Me Free,” emerges from what might be considered failure – Horton’s divorce. Yet his treatment of this subject matter reveals sophisticated emotional intelligence.
Rather than wallowing in self-pity or assigning blame, he locates grace within dissolution. The piano arrangement breathes with quiet confidence, supporting vocals that suggest hard-won wisdom rather than bitter reflection.
His approach to “String Around My Finger” demonstrates remarkable narrative economy. The song chronicles a songwriter choosing love over Nashville ambition, but Horton avoids cliché through specific detail.
His music bridges cultures, drawing from experiences performing in both Tokyo and the U.S., and this cross-cultural perspective adds unexpected depth to what could have been standard Americana fare.
The decision to cover Jim Croce’s “Operator” initially seems puzzling. Why would an artist building his own identity reach for such familiar material? But Horton’s reimagining justifies the choice.
Where Croce’s original carried desperate urgency, Horton finds contemplative melancholy. It’s interpretation as archaeology – excavating buried emotional layers from a beloved classic.
“Never Know Why,” featuring Vesper Stockwell, shifts the EP’s emotional centre. The duet format allows Horton to explore relationship dynamics from multiple perspectives, creating conversational intimacy that feels genuinely vulnerable rather than performatively raw. Stockwell’s contributions suggest artistic partnership rather than mere collaboration.
The closing track, “Space and Time,” revisits material from Horton’s 2023 catalogue but benefits from contextual reframing. Surrounded by songs about transformation and acceptance, this reworked version gains new resonance.
It functions as both conclusion and prelude – acknowledging past wounds while suggesting future possibilities.
What distinguishes Imperfections from countless other singer-songwriter releases is Horton’s refusal to present himself as victim or hero. These songs inhabit the complex middle ground where most actual human experience occurs.
His piano playing – informed by classical training but softened by years of bar performance – provides sturdy foundation for narratives that resist easy categorization.
The EP’s production choices reveal careful consideration of sonic space. Nothing feels overproduced, yet every element serves clear purpose. Horton understands that intimacy requires precision, not just proximity.
Folk and Americana currently experience renaissance among younger listeners seeking authenticity in an increasingly artificial cultural moment. Artists like Fleet Foxes, Caamp, and Bon Iver have demonstrated how folk music can evolve while maintaining its core essence. Horton joins this conversation from his own unique angle – that of the late-bloomer who found his voice after trying on other identities.
His bilingual background and Tokyo experience suggest fascinating future directions. While Imperfections operates primarily within American folk traditions, hints of broader cultural awareness surface throughout. This cosmopolitan sensibility distinguishes Horton from more provincial contemporaries.
The EP’s greatest strength lies in its emotional honesty without emotional exhibitionism. Horton shares personal material but maintains appropriate boundaries. He invites listeners into his experiences without demanding specific responses. This approach creates space for individual interpretation while maintaining artistic integrity.
Contemporary songwriting often suffers from either excessive confession or studied detachment. Horton navigates between these extremes, finding territory that feels both personal and universal.
His divorce becomes metaphor for any necessary ending; his love story suggests broader truths about choice and commitment.
Imperfections functions as both artistic statement and emotional document. Horton has created something simultaneously specific to his experience and broadly applicable to human condition. The EP’s five tracks offer sufficient variety to sustain repeated listening while maintaining clear artistic vision.
Perhaps most remarkably, Horton makes vulnerability sound like strength rather than weakness. In our current cultural moment, when authenticity often gets weaponized for social media consumption, his genuine approach feels almost radical.
This EP suggests an artist just beginning to access his full potential, someone whose life experience finally aligns with artistic ambition.
Imperfections may be Horton’s statement about embracing flaws, but the music itself reveals an artist approaching his own form of completion.
