The same phosphorescent weight found in Nick Sanborn’s work as half of Sylvan Esso is manifest on Penumbra, Sanborn’s debut EP under the name Made of Oak. Bittersweet hooks float through weighted bass while personal textures click, strum, and breathe, giving a tense intimacy to his melodies. Nick is an unconventional producer who combines these elements with deftness and tact, using a palette he has spent years creating. The results are catchy, aching, and deeply satisfying. Movements disappear and bloom again, threads unwind and rewind, melodies sink in and disperse as a new picture finds form. Moments of release are actually audible; the flawed sigh of a human pulse gratefully giving in to the mathematical throb of the beat. The result is a work of real-time conflict and upheaval. While the music is studied and skilled, Penumbra’s emotions are imperfect and wild. Penumbra will be released November 6, 2015 via Partisan Records worldwide.