The Dear Hunter is a self-dubbed indie, now full-time project of Casey Crescenzo, formerly of post-hardcore band The Receiving End of Sirens. The band's sound is not unlike that of Casey's former band, but with more alternative and progressive rock tendencies and a wider variety of instrumentation. The band began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was full time member of Boston band The Receiving End of Sirens. It was originally intended as a vehicle for music Casey had written that didn't fit with the heavier sound of The Receiving End of Sirens. In the winter of 2005 Casey recorded the Dear Ms. Leading demos. He created 10 copies of the demos on burned CDs intended for the ears of friends, and they began circulation. At the time he did not plan to pursue The Dear Hunter full time and allowed the demos to be placed online for download. On February 2, 2006, The Dear Hunter played its first show with The Receiving End of Sirens as the backing band.