Emerging at the dawn of the 2000s as an earnest, earthy singer/songwriter, Paul Brill cultivated a successful career as a film and television composer. Halve the Light, his 2002 debut, helped him carve out a cult within Americana audiences, but by 2006 he was finding steady work as a composer, first gaining attention for his work on 2006's The Trials of Darryl Hunt and 2007's The Devil Came on Horseback, earning Emmy nominations for both scores. He collaborated with U2 on a string arrangement for their "Walk On" for 2010's Burma Soldier, which helped open the door to such high-profile productions as Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and Page One: Inside the NY Times. Brill's success as a composer slowed his productivity as a recording artist, but he continued to release the occasional album, such as 2023's The Cost of Believing.