Dream to Make Believe is the debut studio album by American rock band Armor for Sleep. Following on from his previous band Random Task, Ben Jorgensen taught himself guitar and later recruited additional members to form Armor for Sleep. With some buzz, and the addition of manager Gabe Saporta, the band recorded their debut album with Ariel Rechtshaid at two studios in California: El Barrio in Van Nuys and Standard Electrical in Venice Beach. Dream to Make Believe mixed the space rock of Hum with the emo pop of the Get Up Kids; it tackled the topics of dreaming, time-travel and space. Armor for Sleep formally announced they had signed to independent label Equal Vision Records in early 2003, and went on two tours following this. Dream to Make Believe was released on June 3, where it was met with a generally positive reaction from music critics, with some finding it a highly enjoyable listen. Exclaim! included it at number seven on their list of the best punk albums of the year. The album was promoted with four US tours, continuing into mid-2004. Music videos were released for the title-track and "My Town" in early and mid-2004 respectively. Background and production Influenced by local acts Lifetime and Saves the Day, Ben Jorgensen formed the punk rock act Random Task with friends from school. Though he was initially a drummer, he started playing guitar when his bandmates would leave their instruments at his mom's home. The group attracted attention from two record labels, however, the members' parents were "too scared at the time to let us do anything like that." Before Jorgensen started college, he spent the preceding season writing material and taped two songs ("Dream to Make Believe" and "Slip Like Space") at a local studio in August 2001. Jorgensen wished to record more, but felt daunted by the task of playing every instrument by himself, he recruited bassist Anthony Dilonno, They recorded a demo in October 2001, which consisted of "All Warm", "Phantoms Now" and "Pointless Forever"; they combined this and the two previously done songs, and sold them as a five-track demo release. Armor for Sleep soon began attracting buzz; they were due to appear on a Victory Records compilation, though were later taken off. In April 2002, it was rumored that the band would be releasing their debut album through independent label Equal Vision Records later in