The Dear Hunter is the full-time progressive rock project of Casey Crescenzo, formerly of post-hardcore band The Receiving End of Sirens. The band got its name from the lead character of the story that he wrote to go along with the music. The sound is unlike that of Casey’s former band, with musical roots deep-set in the progressive rock genre and utilizing a wider variety of instrumentation.

The band began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was full time member of the Boston, Massachusetts 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.