Cute Is What We Aim For

Hailing from Buffalo, New York, the emo-pop outfit Cute Is What We Aim For first surfaced in January 2005. Though it began as a five-piece, the group soon pared down to a quartet consisting of vocalist Shaant Hacikyan, guitarist/pianist Jeff Czum, drummer Tom Falcone, and bassist/guitarist Fred Cimato. The members wasted no time laying down several demos, which secured them a spot on the Fueled by Ramen roster before December arrived. They next teamed with producer Matt Squire (Northstar, Panic at the Disco) to record their first full-length, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch, issued in June 2006. In support of the album the band spent the summer touring alongside Anberlin, Spitalfield, Forgive Durden, and June. By autumn bassist Cimato exited to focus on academia, and Jack Marin (ex-October Fall) stepped in; bass duties would later pass to Dave Melillo. The quartet’s follow-up, Rotation, appeared in June 2008, after which Cute Is What We Aim For resumed the road with Michael Lasaponara filling the drum chair.