Songfacts®:

• "12 Steps" turns the language of addiction recovery into a metaphor for escaping a toxic ex. The song references the classic recovery program used by Alcoholics Anonymous, but Dexter and the Moonrocks aren't trying to clean up from drugs or booze here, they're trying to kick a bad relationship that's turned out much harder to quit.
  
  So I'm taking 12 steps to get away from you
  
  "We've always loved songs that toe the line between... 'Is he talking about a woman or Schedule 1 narcotics?'" the band explained. "So, we decided... why not write one?"
  
  That double meaning gives the track its bite. It functions just as well as a song about severe chemical dependency as it does an analysis of a codependent breakup, leaving it open to interpretation instead of forcing a single answer.
• The track is a collaboration with fellow Texas outfit Treaty Oak Revival. Both bands hail from West Texas and share a similar mix of red-dirt country, Southern rock, and grunge-influenced grit. Treaty Oak Revival frontman Sam Canty teamed up with Dexter and the Moonrocks singer James Tuffs and the rest of the group to co-write the track. Given their shared roots and overlapping sound, the team-up felt destined to happen eventually.
• Taylor Kimball produced the track. Kimball also worked on Dexter and the Moonrocks' breakout single, "Freakin' Out," and has deep roots in the Texas scene, having produced records for Treaty Oak Revival and Koe Wetzel.
• "12 Steps" fits right alongside other self-sabotage anthems in the band's catalog, such as "Freakin' Out" and "Ritalin." "Freakin' Out" for instance, tackles touring-induced panic attacks using blurred imagery where emotional stress and chemical abuse feel like two sides of the same coin.