Mark Ryan, lead singer, urban legend and well-known NYC nightlife personality, originally formed the band with friend and producer Dean Baltulonis. After recruiting the rest of their line-up, the band recorded and self-released their eponymous debut EP in August 2005. The quickly earned a reputation as one of New York's best live acts, serving up tight, energetic sets with added percussion, buzzes and electronic beeps. Mark Ryan's punk delivery and sassy lyrics compliment a call-and-response guitar exchange between Baltulonis and Odness. Drummer Johnny Hunt provides a sturdy backbone for the group to deliver the spazz, and Johnny McAuliffe's bass lines invariably stick in your head.

Since their inception Foreign Islands has played with acts such as The Hold Steady, Les Savy Fav, Young Love, The Cribs, Goes Cube, Datarock, Vampire Weekend, MSTRKRFT, White Rose Movement, The Detachment Kit, The Like, Teddybears, and Lady Sovereign among many others. They recently traveled to Portugal to play the Paredes De Coura festival (along with Sonic Youth, Spoon, Dinosaur Jr., CSS, Peter, Bjorn, and John, Architecture in Helsinki, The New York Dolls, and Devotchka) and to Puerto Rico for a show with Paul Van Dyk. They returned to Puerto Rico this October to play the PR Rumba with Guns n' Bombs.

Nude Records (UK) released Foreign Islands' first two singles, Fine Dining (With the Future) in June 2006 and We Know You Know It in October of the same year, specifically targeting DJs and specialty markets in the underground London club scene. The mini-album Restart Now! was released on Deaf, Dumb and Blind in March 2007, and includes remixes by Filthy Dukes and Boys Noize.