The first two albums by the dB’s could barely contain all the ideas written into each song. On Stands for decibels and Repercussions, Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey’s pop songs were full of unpredictable changes, clever lyrics and smart moves that made them irresistible for anyone who valued density and intelligence in pop. Almost 30 years later, both writers have lived long enough to realize you don’t have to say everything at once, and that ideas can be meted out more judiciously. On Here and Now, they’re big boys and maturity is filtering in, but not too much. Holsapple’s “Early in the Morning” may sing the joys of domesticity and Stamey’s “Song for Johnny Cash” might express the sort of profound love that no one on Gossip Girl can understand, but that doesn’t mean they’ve outgrown pop. It still appears in its most bubble gum forms a few times here.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that the album’s gems are mid-tempo and melancholy. “Santa Monica” is a dB’s reunion, but that’s a secondary attraction to the lovely, slightly desperate expression of love. The wary verse opens into a gorgeous chorus with the sudden expansiveness of someone walking outside at night to marvel at the star field above. The insightful realization? “I want to hang around with you,” which sounds soul-fulfilling as Stamey sings it.

On “Begin Again,” Branford Marsalis’ sax weaves through a song that likely found its start when Holsapple lost his home in Arabi during Hurricane Katrina. But the song’s not just about Katrina or loss; instead, it focuses on going through loss in many senses, and how we carry on anyway. Age means both are more emotionally developed and affecting when they tread familiar turf.

The dB’s output was often hard to get, with the first two albums available in their own hometown only as British imports since they were on Albion Records. It seems sadly appropriate that their albums have been equally slow to be reissued. Collector’s Club finally reissued the first two on one disc, and now Rhino Records has Like This available for digital download. It was the band’s first album without Stamey, and it may be Holsapple’s tour de force as a writer. He’d started streamlining his songs, but “Love is for Lovers” is as rich and surprising as anything before it. My attention drifts a bit on side two, but the only song that has dated is the rock-disco “Spy in the House of Love,” but even it is charming for the momentary presumption that seemed to infiltrate most corners of the rock ’n’ roll world that people would dance to almost anything. The truth is that they’ll sing along to almost anything, and I could still sing along to most of Like This on my first listen in over 20 years.