Dear and the Headlights is an indie rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. They released 2 widely known demos, recorded by future bassist Chuckie Duff, before their debut album was released. These demos included 5 songs re-recorded for the album. The most notable change to the songs upon re-recording was the drop from standard guitar tuning to E-flat standard tuning. Two songs heard on their purevolume.com page, recorded acoustic on a local radio show, also later appeared on Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. Small Steps, Heavy Hooves, the band's debut album, was released on February 6, 2007 on Equal Vision Records.