"I woke up one day, and had songs in my head," says Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Zak Claxton, seemingly reluctant to bother explaining these things. "It was a case of great circumstances that aligned at the right time. I had songs; I had access to a great recording facility; I had friends who wanted to help me realize this vision. So I did."

So he did. Zak started work on his self-titled debut in Spring 2008, and in between a regular guy's life of triumphs and tragedies, he managed to...