hERE aND nOW

They Say...

Review by Mark Deming, All Music Guide

In 1991, when former dB's bandmates Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey ambled into the studio to record the collaborative album Mavericks, they cut a largely acoustic and low-key set of songs which seemed to reflect their status as thirty-somethings beginning to look past the rough-and-tumble side of the energetic pop that was their trademark. Eighteen years later, both Holsapple and Stamey are eligible to join AARP, and their second album as a duo, Here and Now, clearly reflects the maturity that making itself felt on Mavericks. At the same time, in many respects it's a more upbeat and optimistic album than Mavericks, and it's every bit as pleasurable. Opening an album with a Family cover is a sure way to show your age, but in Holsapple and Stamey's hands "My Friend the Sun" is an anthem of cautious optimism and new beginnings, and while the album passes through a variety of moods, even the most downbeat numbers speak of the need to pick up and move on to better days ( "Begin Again"), and the coffee-fueled "Early in the Morning", the slyly romantic "Broken Record," and the atmospheric "Santa Monica" (the basic track taken from a dB's rehearsal recording) all speak of love on a grown-up level, with all the attendant joys and responsibilities. Both Holsapple and Stamey are in fine form as both vocalists and songwriters, and these 14 songs are a lovely reminder of how well they work together (and their harmonies are still splendid). "Widescreen World" is snappy enough to have found a place on Repercussion and "Tape Op Blues" is a funny bit of nostalgia for the dB's and their brief moment of almost-stardom, and though the more measured tone of "Song for Johnny Cash" and "Long Time Coming" are more indicative of Here and Now's tone, the album's warmth, emotional honesty, and abundant smarts make it as much of a joy as its early-'90s counterpart. Here and Now is good enough that you can't help but wish Holsapple and Stamey cut another album before they start getting their Social Security checks.