Jack Horton is pulling pieces of himself
from every chord. With "Set Me Free," the new single from his EP "Imperfections," he welcomes listeners into an emotionally safe passage where tender-hearted artistry mixes with unvarnished craft, and every lyric sounds like a ripped page from a secret diary.
This new release represents Horton's second EP within a year, and it's evident that he's found a groove in sharing his progression and grit. The five-song project, Imperfections, blends autobiographical storytelling and polished musicianship, with "Set Me Free" as the heart of the shape-shifting project. A gentle piano melody, Horton's calling card that is both intimate and cinematic, opens the track. It feeds into a lyrical journey that grapples with letting go, reasserting power, and finding catharsis in naked and brutal self-assessment.
There's a weight to Horton's weary and hopeful voice. He sings with a raw sincerity that doesn't strive for perfection but utterly inhabits imperfection as it should be since the track was borne of an EP phenom upon which the theme was called "Imperfections." Each line of "Set Me Free" is sung with emotional clarity, as if he's not just singing to us but confiding in us.
The production is clean and deliberate, allowing the song's poignant heart to take focus without any gimmickry. It's a song that unwinds gradually, threading in strings and subtle textures that heighten the urgency yet never overshadow the message. There's a quiet building to the end — a sonic release that echoes the song's attempt to allow oneself emotional freedom.
And though Imperfections also contains Horton's covering of a Jim Croce classic, it's the original material like "Set Me Free" where that artistry becomes clear. Horton's songwriting isn't short on patience to hang with silence a little longer than most purple-prosed songwriters or to ask the difficult questions, but let silence take up some of the slack, carry some of the load.
"Set Me Free" reminds us that music need not be loud to carry weight. Jack Horton again demonstrates that truth, combined with musical perfection, makes for something that sticks around long after the last note has sounded.
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Music