Jim Mize boasts an unlikely backstory. Although he’s recorded three albums and has just released a single from his latest, “Drunk Moon Falling”/“I Won’t Come Back Gain,” he only recently retired from his day job to pursue music as a full time occupation. Some may think of him as a late bloomer; after all, he’s nearly 60 and just now hitting the road for the first time. Likewise, his hometown of Conway Arkansas doesn’t exactly situate him at the center of the music universe. Nevertheless, he’s been writing songs for more than 20 years, stockpiling them for the day when he can turn his attention to making music his ongoing profession. He’s attracted some significant attention along the way as well, counting among his admirers John Paul Keith, Jimbo Mathus, Tim and Susan Lee of the Tim Lee 3, and Laurie Stirratt, a member of the late, great Mississippi combo Blue Mountain.
Mize’s latest album, a self-titled effort released late last year, demonstrates why that faith is justified. Though it’s only nine songs long, it crams a lifetime of imagination and experience into its series of frayed and tattered narratives. Admittedly, Mize doesn’t exactly fit the role of your typical minstrel; his everyman looks and humble demeanor make him something of an anomaly in today’s world of glitz and glamour. Nevertheless, it’s that unflinching honesty that’s his greatest source of strength, and indeed, on songs like “Rabbit Hole,” “I Won’t Come Back Again” and “Need Me Some Jesus,” that squinty eyed perspective is infused with the honesty and humility that could only have come from a true son of the South. It makes this album — like the two that came before it, Release It To the Sky and No Tell Motel — a collection that that could easily share a shelf with Mickey Newberry, Billy Joe Shaver, Kevin Gordon, Ray Wylie Hubbard or any of the other minstrels who have closed the divide between real life experience and the supposed scenarios they sing of. He may be a Jimmy Come Lately, but Mize has already arrived.