Cute Is What We Aim For

The emo-pop outfit Cute Is What We Aim For emerged from Buffalo, NY, in January 2005. Although originally formed as 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 Fueled by Ramen's roster before the year's end. Cute Is What We Aim For then hooked up with producer Matt Squire (<a href="spotify:artist:0hj1CyxE5v3s9DGH6IOasF">Northstar</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:20JZFwl6HVl6yg8a4H3ZqK">Panic at the Disco</a>) for the group's debut full-length, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch, which arrived in June 2006. The band hit the road in support of the album, sharing bills over the summer with such bands as <a href="spotify:artist:5v61OSg53KaQxGMpErkBNp">Anberlin</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7AJguctH9H80EfjY6d273A">Spitalfield</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2pUuQ3rIUcUKSqBpWa10rG">Forgive Durden</a>, and June. That fall, bassist Cimato left the lineup to pursue academia, with Jack Marin (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:3eilaX4TUE289srOysbALn">October Fall</a>) climbing aboard in his place. (Bass duties would eventually shift to <a href="spotify:artist:1KK8NRzE3sHhfTkvd8GNID">Dave Melillo</a>.) The band's second album, Rotation, was released in June 2008, and Cute Is What We Aim For returned to the road with replacement drummer Michael Lasaponara in tow. ~ Corey Apar, Rovi