Based in Perth, Western Australia, vocalist Justin Burford and guitarist Rodney Aravena had been playing together in the Sleepy Jackson before deciding to quit the group to pursue songs they'd written outside the band. Consequently, they hooked up with drummer Mike Hobbs and bassist Hugh Jennings to start the rock quartet End of Fashion. Nick Jonsson and Tom King later replaced Hobbs and Jennings, respectively. Two EPs, Rough Diamonds and Too Careful, appeared in 2004. Recorded in early 2005 with Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello), their infectious self-titled debut was spearheaded by the single "O Yeah," written in one sitting by Burford on a bet that he couldn't pen a song that quickly. The album was issued in August 2005 and had gone gold in Australia and New Zealand before being picked by EMI/Capitol for worldwide distribution. It was released stateside in May 2006. End of Fashion played a slot at 2006's South by Southwest festival and spent the rest of March on a U.S. tour with Metric.