SellOut! / Boss Tuneage (2025, Reissue)
A Dozen Summits is a pretty pivotal record as it was when Beezewax appeared on the radar of PopKid Records HQ. I'm not sure where the band heard of PopKid, but they sent this (at the time) CD only release and demos of some of the songs that would go on to become South of Boredom to Alan back in 1997 or 1998. He loved them and the rest is history. Somewhere in there we procured a copy of the CD for me as well and it's been in my frequent rotation ever since. This is a record that has long been on my short list for my most wanted records to get a vinyl release and the fine folks at SellOut and Boss Tuneage made that a reality last year.
A Dozen Summits is only second to South of Boredom in the Beezewax catalog for me. It's a perfect guitar pop record with perhaps a bit more fuzz a roughness than the rest of their catalog. But it's in those fuzzy, imperfect moments where I find the perfection in these songs. There's so many great songs on here and there's moments, like where they go from the heavier Posies-esque "Take the Wheel" to the blown out bass intro of "Miss Playin Basketball," that wow me every time I listen.
As with many things in life, it ruins my brain to realize that this album is 29 years old. At the same time, this record is kind of a remarkable snapshot of youthful enthusiasm, energy and optimism that's probably difficult to replicate when you is double digits and starts with a 4 or a 5. This is an album that takes me back to a hectic, stressful and challenging time in my life, but one that certainly had its good moments and a ton of great music. So happy to finally be able to spin this on my record player after all these years.
Beezewax - A Dozen Summits:
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