The idea for Persephone's Bees came to the band's leader, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Angelina Moysov, when she was a little girl growing up in the Soviet Union listening to her mother's Russian folk and gypsy music. As she grew up, the British and American music that her brother listened to as well as the emergence of the Russian punk and new wave scene provided solace for Moysov, who left her native country for the United States with her brother in 1990. In 1993 Moysov met guitarist Tom Ayres in Los Angeles and the duo eventually moved to San Francisco in 1999, where they produced a demo tape. After recruiting bassist Bart Davenport and drummer Paul Bertolino, the newly christened Persephone's Bees issued the self-produced City of Love and were soon performing with Cake, BRMC and Jonathan Richman. The record was nominated for the best debut album at the California Music Awards in 2002 and the title track was used in the soundtrack for the 2005 film Bewitched.

Persephone's Bees released their major-label debut full-length, Notes from the Underworld, in August 2006 on Columbia after Bertolino and Davenport rejoined the group (they had been working on other projects subsequent to the issuing of City of Love.) Notes from the Underworld was hailed one of the best debut albums of the year. Produced by Eric Valentine, the pop album's singles "Nice Day" and "City of Love" gained instant notoriety for the band. "City of Love" was featured in a popular commercial (for the Razr phone) and "Nice Day" exemplifies the breezy pop of Persephone's Bees. Fans love Persephone's Bees' eclectic sound, which draws from Moysov's Russian heritage (and the surrounding cultures of Greece, Turkey and Slavia,) but is dually influenced by ‘70s punk-pop.