Logan Mize has today released his new record – Still That Kid – through Big Yellow Dog Music, including the single ‘I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up.’ Logan is also joining the Destination Country Team tomorrow for a Happy (Half) Hour on Zoom – sign up here.
Logan Mize has fast become a UK fan favourite, following his performances at The Long Road and at Bush Hall. Today, he returns with his authentic and relatable country-rock record – Still That Kid, featuring the hit collaboration with Willie Jones, ‘I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up’ and ‘Grew Apart’ featuring Donovan Woods. There is a raw and real grit both to Mize’s vocal and his songwriting that feels humble – delivering tracks that speak to the real human experience and feel immensely grounded.
Throughout the record there is a strong feeling of nostalgia for Mize’s childhood – as the title itself suggests. The album opens with ‘American Livin” a plucky track, stripped back to showcase Mize’s vocal, singing about missing the small town American experience. ‘Time says you can’t go back, but oh just like that you know what it is you’ve been missing / Friday nights, small town American livin‘.’ The production is gorgeous, unique, rife with pedal steel, but with moments to let the track breathe. So too, ‘Who Didn’t’ offers another look back with bittersweet nostalgia, questioning who hadn’t had an upbringing like his – ‘Work like hell, pray in a huddle… Put in park for some cold beer kissin’ – and later track ‘Practice Swing,’ Mize sings of the actions of his youth being just practice swings for his adult life on a heavier country-rock track. Finally, on later track ‘Hometown,’ Mize slides to a different sounding production that fits seamlessly in this ode to his hometown. ‘That high school crush that I never did kiss, I want to be home… back where my roots ran wild in my barefoot stomping ground.’ It’s a stunning track that avoids the trappings of a cliche country song about hometowns and is instead nostalgic but sweetly so.
There is still a strong drinking element to the record that prevents it from falling into sentimental territory and bringing back his country-rock sound, not least with his two versions of ‘I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up’ – one with Willie Jones and a solo version. The track is catchy on both, with a raucous and bold drumbeat – a party song about not wanting to grow up. ‘So hand your boy a cold beer / Cause I’m just getting started / Gonna steal a kiss from a little miss / Life of the party / If I live forever / Well that ain’t long enough / Everyday I get a little older / But I ain’t gotta grow up.’ The inclusion of Jones’ signature, honeyed vocal is a mark of genius, giving the re-vamped version an edge. So too, on later duet with label mate Clare Dunn – ‘Get‘ Em Together’ – Mize sings about partying together, it’s a swaggering, sultry and bombastic drinking song that drips smoothly and marries perfectly with Dunn’s rock-edged vocal.
This proffering of two versions of the same track is continued on the two different versions of the track ‘Grew Apart’ – one a duet with Donovan Woods and one with Alexandra Kay. The track offers a bittersweet look back at the ending of the relationship – telling everyone they grew apart when the truth is far from that. ‘I don’t drag your name through the mud, but we both knew I could, maybe I should.’ ‘I don’t tell them how you broke my heart, I just tell them that we grew apart.’ The track – a Donovan Woods cut – is given a grittier edge with Woods and with Kay a conversational quality – both are startlingly different but perfectly formed in their own right and it almost feels necessary that both versions are included to showcase the track from different angles.
The final three songs on the record are the most sentimental on the record. ‘Prettiest Girl in the World’ is the closest to a love song that you’ll get on this record – one of Mize’s few cuts on the record, singing to a lover about seeing her own value. ‘It’s hard to believe that the prettiest girl in the world / Needs to hear that somebody loves her as much at her worst as I do at her best. / In my wildest dreams, I’d never have guessed I’d be the one to hold the prettiest girl in the world.’ It’s a smooth, honeyed track that sways along as does ‘Slow’ – a smooth running track about taking pleasures in the slow and quiet life. ‘Fall in love, soak it in, do your best, be a friend, so you don’t need a reason to bring home a dozen roses.’ It’s sophisticated and poised rather than overly sentimental, making it all the more special for being so. Rounding out the record, Mize covers the Coldplay track ‘Something Just Like This’ – a surprising choice but one that works seamlessly with Mize’s vocal that has a similar, raw tone to Martin’s.
Mize has delivered a really strong record that covers the full spectrum of his vocal range, showcasing it from various different angles. The shrewd choice of duet partners is what gives the record its magic, enhancing rather than detracting from Mize’s sonic capabilities – this will be a quieter record that sits with you and grows on you with each revisit.
Editor’s Picks
Hometown
Get ‘Em Together
American Livin’
