Though their moniker suggests English origins, the Favourite Sons operate out of Brooklyn. Irish native Ken Griffin handles vocals, while the remaining lineup traces its beginnings to Philadelphia’s late-’90s space-rock community; the group’s present form, however, resides in New York City’s most self-consciously trendy borough. Griffin first emerged during the shoegazer period by founding the underappreciated Dublin outfit Rollerskate Skinny, a project long dismissed as trend-followers largely because its lead guitarist was Jimi Shields, the younger sibling of My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. Guitarist-keyboardist Justin Tripp, guitarist Carmine Degennaro, bassist Matt Werth, and drummer A.J. Edmiston all previously played in the Philadelphia psychedelic-pop ensemble Aspera, also known as Aspera Ad Astra, which issued multiple albums near the millennium’s turn amid peak “Psychedelphia” attention. Once Drew Mills departed Aspera after the poorly received 2003 release Oh Fantastica, Griffin linked up with the transplanted ex-Aspera musicians in 2004, thereby establishing the Favourite Sons. Abandoning Aspera’s psychedelic touches, the new band pursued a blend of shoegaze guitar textures and taut, dance-oriented grooves reminiscent of the Strokes, all framed by Griffin’s vocal approach that echoed Iggy Pop. In 2005 they issued singles through Gold Standard Laboratories and Loog, followed by a live EP, before delivering their first proper studio album, Down Beside Your Beauty, via Vice Records in autumn 2006.
