Emo-pop outfit Cute Is What We Aim For emerged from Buffalo, NY, in January 2005. Although originally a quintet, the band ultimately stripped down to four members, with vocalist Shaant Hacikyan, guitarist/pianist Jeff Czum, drummer Tom Falcone, and bassist/guitarist Fred Cimato comprising the lineup. Wasting little time, the bandmates recorded a handful demos that landed them on the Fueled by Ramen roster before the year's end.