The Daybreak Line makes the kind of fill-in-the-gaps pop that brings together
mainstream and indie into a single ray of musical light. Using sounds and unusual effects
to bring an experimental spirit to its traditionalist pop songwriting, the band creates
sweeping landscapes for frontman Paul Hashemi's warm tenor. The music is at once
brit-pop without being cold, Americana without being sentimental, and electronic while
without being mechanical.

The band started modestly in 2004, focused on Hashemi's solo material (then
performing as “Paul Kamran”). But drummer Seth Brown, a veteran of DC bands like
June Star, Lianna, and Out of Words, brought his own unique rhythm sensibility to
complement the electronic beats. After a litany of lineups and a string of gigs, the two
disbanded from the rest of the group and settled down to make a record. The finished
product, mixed at New York City's famous Shelter Island Sound by David Seitz (Dar
Williams, Jeff Buckley), is a set piece of glimmering singer-songwriter pop, laden with
harmonies, sing-along choruses, taut acoustic guitars, and sweeping synthesizers.

In the meantime, Paul's childhood friend and erstwhile roommate Dave Copeland,
(formerly of Supercade and Full Minute of Mercury), signed on to play bass and
keyboards, and immediately had an impact on the band's sound. Where the record
relies on panoramic arrangements to couch the songs' messages, the band's live sound
began to seize the angular surprise at the core of every great pop song and infuse it with
a raw, molten burst of energy. The recent addition of violinist and vocalist Kirsten Snyder brings out yet another dimension to the band's show.

Already at work on a louder, less compromising follow-up record, the confessional,
vulnerable delicacy of the band on the EP has been traded for a confident swagger,
showcasing rhythmic agility and post-punk vigor – but with the songwriter's craft still at
the center. The Daybreak Line is dead. Long live the Daybreak Line.