formed in 1998 under the name letter twelve, the group signed to tooth & nail records in 2004 and changed its name. the band's first, and only, release under this name was entitled "how the lonely keep", and in 2005 they went on tour with labelmates anberlin. the record hit no. 39 on the "billboard" top christian albums chart in 2005. matthew tsai of absolute punk called the record "one of the great emo releases of the 00's". melodic.net compared the group to anberlin, jimmy eat world and third eye blind.