Their first album started out as a Wareham solo project, but when he heard Phillips' demos, he asked her to join him.

L'Avventura was produced by Tony Visconti and released on Jetset Records in 2003, under the name "Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham".

After Luna broke up in 2005, Dean & Britta spent the next year working on film scores, most notably for Noah Baumbach's movie, The Squid and the Whale, and promoting the documentary film of Luna's farewell tour Tell Me Do You Miss Me.

They were married during the recording of their album Back Numbers, also produced by Visconti, and simplified their band name to "Dean & Britta".

Back Numbers was released on Rounder Records in February 2007, followed by a limited edition EP, Words You Used to Say.