The Proton Energy Pills

First formed in 1986 in Wollongong, Australia, the Proton Energy Pills were founded out of an affinity for Radio Birdman, the Stooges and the Ramones. Living in an industrial town rife with unemployment, brothers Dave, Jay and Lenny Curley, and schoolmates Richard Lewis and Stewart Cunningham decided that rock’n roll was their only option, and it’s a good thing they did. Rocket to Tarrawanna is an impressive collection of the Pills’ recordings, which have never been released on CD before. Sludgy and chugging, these 19 tracks are like wallowing in delirious feedback. The J. Mascis-produced "Less Than I Spend” is a signature song and one that immediately encompasses the Pills’ sound. "Symmetry” is an epic song that, at times, is as heavy as all hell before drowning in washy drones, demonstrating that Stooges influence full-on and also showing off the early grunge sensibilities that wouldn’t explode until years later. Rocket To Tarrawanna is an unwieldy monster of raw sound that’s so textured and massive that its presence isn’t easily ignored.