In "String Around My Finger," Jack Horton turns in a winsome, rootsy anthem that toggles between memories and the tug of destiny. The second single from his forthcoming EP "Imperfections," this bouncy country-pop song is brimming with lyrical wit and emotional warmth, the room temperature set just right by a born storyteller singing about whatever he dang well pleases. Jack Horton has lived many lives as a lawyer, businessman, and political operative and now returns to a bilingual, folk-infused singer whose voice is etched with experience and light with love. Having cut his teeth performing in Tokyo and across the U.S., the lived-in authenticity of his music sets him apart in today's Americana scene.
"String Around My Finger" is the story of a songwriter stuck between a bid for moonlight in Nashville and clinging to the memory of a hometown girl with a lifelong hold on his heart. The title is a wry reversal of that old trick of tying a string around your finger to remember something meaningful. It is a metaphor for how some individuals and some locales will not let themselves go quietly into oblivion. The song is musically playful and light, grounded in twangy guitar licks and a toe-tapping rhythm right at home with a Friday night setlist or in the middle of a road trip back home. But Horton's vocals are relaxed, more inclined toward clarity than expression, which is the perfect way to sell lyrics that name-drop legends like Elton John, Johnny Cash, and John Prine while tipping hat to the age-old grind of playing covers in smoky bars.
It's a confession, an honest one set to music. Jack articulates the songwriter's conundrum with wit and graceful poignancy of the war between pursuing dreams and honoring the people and moments that imbued those dreams with any shape in the first place. "String Around My Finger" is the type of song that will make you smile, one you'll sing along to as you potentially call up someone you haven't thought of in a while. It's personal, punchy, and filled with purpose, proofing that imperfection can sound a lot like magic when packaged in good storytelling.
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