Beezewax - South Of Boredom LP

Boss Tuneage / Sellout! (2019, Reissue)

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this Beezewax record finally coming out on vinyl twenty years after its initial release.  I'm thrilled that it's available and I'm happy that labels that I love like Boss Tuneage and Sellout! are the ones who released it.  But, there is a part of me that's a little sad that this isn't on PopKid.  The original CD came out on PopKid records back in 1999, but we just never figured out a good way to do a vinyl version.  It's super cool to have this record in my collection.  I'm just a bit jealous that it's not in my collection as a PopKid records release.

Still, that's a just a weirdo thing for me to work through.  Everyone else should rejoice that one of my favorite records of all time is finally available on vinyl.  I remember when @alanrappa first played me the band's debut album A Dozen Summits.  They had sent it to PopKid HQ along with some other tunes.  I remember liking it right away, but Alan was the one who really loved it and knew they were the perfect fit for PopKid.  Alan & I both did radio shows at my old college station back in the 90s.  It was there where Beezewax finally sunk in and I understood it like Alan did.  He would play the song "In The Stands" on his show before we had the CDs actually pressed.  Or as I referred to it as "THE HIT."  That's the song that really made me fall for the band.

It's still my favorite song on the album, but South Of Boredom is a virtually perfect record front to back.  All of the songs are now "THE HIT" in my mind and it's been something I've been playing constantly for the past twenty years.  For the uninitiated, Beezewax play melodic guitar pop, not too dissimilar from the very, very best of The Posies.  But they also have their own way of structuring songs that in my minds, make them even better than The Posies.  I would put the first three Beezewax albums up against just about any three album run.  They're all so perfect.  I hope that those ones are next on the Sellout/Boss Tuneage agenda.  Vinyl versions of A Dozen Summits and Oh Tahoe would look pretty great on my record shelf next to South of Boredom.

Conflict of interest time.  I have a few copies of this record available on the PopKid website.  Seriously, just a few - single digits.  If you want to pick up a copy, grab it quick:

http://popkid.limitedrun.com/products/656755-beezewax-south-of-boredom-lp

For those in the UK, Boss Tuneage is the place to go.  For Norway, Sellout! is your source.  And in Japan, Waterslide has some in their distro as well.  No matter where you get it from, you'll be a better person with this record in your collection.

Beezewax - South Of Boredom:
https://popkid.bandcamp.com/album/beezewax-south-of-boredom