TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb was formed in April 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by guitarist/vocalist Dan Bruskewicz and drummer Dan Martino. The two met while working at a restaurant together and decided to form the group after a successful jam session. After doing some local shows as a two-piece and recording some home demos, the pair looked to expand to a trio, but had trouble recruiting a bassist; eventually J. J. Willis joined on bass, just before the group played the Montreal Pop festival. After building local buzz and doing short stints up the East Coast, the group announced the release of the Hinterlands EP, which arrived in February 2009.
