Finnish power pop veterans THE BABLERS and BIG STIR RECORDS can now announce the album release their fans have been waiting for: the new and definitive edition of the band's LIKE THE FIRST TIME, long out of print and previously only available in Japan and Finland. Featuring a new track sequence and freshly remixed and rearranged tracks never before heard anywhere – and no fewer than six hit indie singles from the past three years – the album sees release on CD and streaming worldwide on April 25. The CD edition is up for pre-order and LIKE THE FIRST TIME can be pre-saved for streaming at:

https://orcd.co/bablers-ltft

The story of THE BABLERS has become much more widely known outside their native Finland in recent years for good reason. It's been over forty years since the band came together as teenagers in the late '70s and took Finland's nascent power pop scene by storm with their debut album WHAT'S ALL ABOUT and its hit title track. For decades afterward, they remained a cult favorite among power pop aficionados worldwide until the surprise release of their acclaimed 2021 reunion album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS won the band – in their longest-lived and definitive lineup of leader, singer-songwriter and guitarist Arto Tamminen, drummer Janne Haavisto, bassist Pekka Gröhn and guitarist Hannu Pikkarainen – a much broader and long-deserved audience of fans in the indie pop world. Those bookend releases tell a remarkable tale in themselves, but what keen-eared listeners have been slowly discovering since then is that the amazing story of THE BABLERS has a secret middle chapter... one that is about to be revealed at last.

The clues have been all over the indie airwaves since 2022, shortly after PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS bowed to near-universal acclaim, as a series of new singles from the band began to emerge and captivate the ears of the band's new fans. The indie hits began with “You Are The One For Me” (chosen by Stevie Van Zandt as The Coolest Song in the World This Week on SiriusXM's Underground Garage) and “Holding Me Tight Tonight”, followed in 2023 by “Mr. King” and “Thinking Of You”. Each found its way onto Top 10 charts on terrestrial and online radio in the US, UK and EU, paving the way for this year's “Together Forever” and the wonderful surprise of the beautiful and brand new “Where The Wind Blows Free”. Between them, they've revealed the band's unique versatility, varying in style from muscular pure power pop to highly sophisticated, groovy and infectiously catchy pop. Along the way, the press releases and social media posts from the band have teased the album from which these tunes originate: LIKE THE FIRST TIME, a lost treasure hidden in plain sight for those curious enough to check Discogs, but never released on a global scale until now.

Originally issued only in Japan in 1998 by EMI, the album's first hit single “You Are The One For Me” received substantial airplay on Japanese national radio. Songs from the album were featured in TV commercials for the insurance company Nippon Life, Ford Motor Company and the Foreign Ministry of Japan. The next hit single “You Are The One For Me” became a karaoke favorite and is still widely heard in karaoke bars in Tokyo and elsewhere today. The album LIKE THE FIRST TIME would go on to enjoy a Finnish release in 2000, and its songs would soar to greater glory still in the band's homeland: “Together Forever” was the winner of the Finnish Grammy Award (Emma) for Song of the Year in its Finnish language version, and two Finnish megastars, Samuli Edelmann and Vesa-Matti Loiri, recorded versions of the unforgettable ballad “Where The Wind Blows Free” under the title “Palava Pää”. But the forthcoming reissue of LIKE THE FIRST TIME is the “first time” the album will be available to a global audience, making it a debut release to most of the indie pop, pop rock, power pop and classic rock fans in the world.

And what an album it is. Packed with the six now-familiar hits and eight more pop-rock gems cut from the same melodically shimmering cloth, it showcases THE BABLERS at a mid-career peak between their boisterous beginnings and the mature masterclass of PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS. Adding a heavy dose of Byrdsy jangle to the ever-present Beatles influences, the band produced a late-20th Century masterpiece that, had it been more widely distributed, would have been spoken of alongside the finest of that era's power pop revival (think Fountains Of Wayne, Sloan or The Wondermints) and the UK greats of the Britpop era (Supergrass, Teenage Fanclub, and even Oasis). Beyond the big-in-Japan tracks and the recent radio hits, it boasts more undiscovered classics: the pure '60s pop-rock throwback “One Of Those Dreams”, the sumptuous string-laden “Sometimes”, the Who-inspired “Could It Be You”, the live-in-one-take wonder “That Little Something”, and more.

Band leader ARTO TAMMINEN, who wrote and sings lead vocals on every track here, describes THE BABLERS' approach from the beginning through today, as gloriously displayed on LIKE THE FIRST TIME: “We've always been a no-nonsense pop rock band with an attitude. What you hear is what you get. If you hear drums, guitars and pianos, they are real drums, guitars and pianos played by the members of the band. No autotune, no samples, just 100% genuine handmade organic pop music. THE BABLERS always have the song at the center... everything for a good song!”

Reviews and fan reactions to the nearly-half of the album in release as singles bear out the success of that formula. And very soon, the wait will be over as LIKE THE FIRST TIME makes its bow on the global stage, and the band's full catalog will be available everywhere at last, confirming THE BABLERS as one of the all-time great pop rock groups of any era, anywhere. We at Big Stir Records can't wait for you to hear it.

With the album LIKE THE FIRST TIME just announced and on its way to global audiences next month, Finnish guitar pop supergroup THE BABLERS bring their fans a very special single – the sixth standalone track to preview the record, previously only available to Japanese and Finnish fans and long out-of-print. In a departure from the previous singles, the gorgeous and heartfelt “Where The Wind Blows Free” is a completely new arrangement and mix from the original track, out April 4 and up for pre-order and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/bablers-wtwbf

All of the members of THE BABLERS – leader, singer-songwriter and guitarist Arto Tamminen, drummer Janne Haavisto, bassist Pekka Gröhn and guitarist Hannu Pikkarainen – have long been widely admired on the Finnish music scene, but recently it's been the noise that they've been making together as a band since the late '70s (when they came together as teenagers and took Finland's nascent power pop scene by storm) that's been grabbing attention worldwide. The rerelease of their long-awaited and remastered LIKE THE FIRST TIME album is coming closer by the day. Originally released only in Japan in 1998 by EMI, the album's first hit single “You Are The One For Me” received substantial airplay in Japan. Songs from the album were featured in national TV commercials for the insurance company Nippon Life, Ford Motor Company and the Foreign Ministry of Japan. The hit single “You Are The One For Me” ended up on karaoke records and is still used in Japanese karaoke bars in Tokyo and elsewhere today. The forthcoming rerelease of LIKE THE FIRST TIME is the “first time” the album will be available to a global audience... therefore it’s really the first release of the album to most of the indie pop, pop rock, power pop and classic rock fans in the world.

Since the 2021 release of critically acclaimed reunion album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS, THE BABLERS have released five singles from the forthcoming LIKE THE FIRST TIME reissue, including the indie hits “You Are The One For Me” (chosen by Stevie Van Zandt as The Coolest Song in the World This Week on SiriusXM's Underground Garage), “Holding Me Tight Tonight”, “Mr. King”, “Thinking Of You” and most recently the English-language version of the Finnish Grammy award winner “Together Forever.” Between them, they've revealed the band's unique versatility, varying in style from muscular pure power pop to highly sophisticated, groovy and infectiously catchy pop. Their latest offering, the new single “Where The Wind Blows Free” is something totally different.

“Where The Wind Blows Free” is not a rerelease of the song as it appeared on the Japanese album. It’s a new version, arrangement and mix of the song lending a fresh perspective and further emphasizing its uniqueness and giving it new wings. “The song crystallizes the magical moment almost all of us have experienced,” says singer-songwriter ARTO TAMMINEN. “After pushing your physical and mental limits to extreme, one needs solitude and time to pause and reflect – to take a slow walk, where the wind blows free.” Musically, it’s a stunningly beautiful classic pop song with superb arrangement consisting of catchy melodies and a rich growing fabric of harmony between guitars, cello, strings, and mellotron.

The song enjoys a cult reputation in Finland, where two Finnish megastars, Samuli Edelmann and Vesa-Matti Loiri, have recorded versions under the title “Palava pää”. Newly reimagined, the single's fresh take on the track lets listeners take a peaceful mental journey to “Where The Wind Blows Free” as they patiently await the April 25 release of LIKE THE FIRST TIME on CD and Streaming worldwide from Big Stir Records.

Big Stir Records proudly presents a new single from Finnish guitar pop supergroup THE BABLERS: “Together Forever”. It's the fifth standalone track from the forthcoming and highly anticipated worldwide release of the album LIKE THE FIRST TIME, a treasure previously only available to Japanese and Finnish fans and long out-of-print. The latest in the string of hit preview singles, the gorgeous and heartfelt “Together Forever” is out January 31 and is up for pre-order and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/bablers-tf

It's been a heady decade for THE BABLERS, who came together as teenagers in the late '70s and took Finland's nascent power pop scene by storm with their 1980 debut album WHAT'S ALL ABOUT. All of the band's key members (leader, singer-songwriter and guitarist Arto Tamminen, drummer Janne Haavisto, bassist Pekka Gröhn and guitarist Hannu Pikkarainen) would go on to become award-winning luminaries on the broader Finnish music scene, but their chemistry as a band has never wavered, culminating in the acclaimed breakthrough reunion album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS, released by Big Stir Records in 2021. For all its accolades, the album was neither the end – nor the middle! – of The Bablers' story, which includes a previously obscure second act in the form of the '90s reunion album LIKE THE FIRST TIME, originally released only in Japan and their native Finland. In the years since PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS, this lost classic, with a sound located firmly between the youthful exuberance of the debut and the accomplished craft of the reunion, has proven a treasure trove of unheard gems every bit as melodically compelling and emotionally honest as the band's best.

The proof is in the reception for the the album's advance singles, which have also demonstrated The Bablers' unique versatility. There's been the band's biggest hit yet “You Are The One For Me” (chosen by Steven Van Zandt as The Coolest Song in the World This Week on his crucial Underground Garage SiriusXM channel), the socially conscious “Mr. King”, the revved up quintessential power pop of “Thinking Of You” and the unabashed sweetness of “Holding Me Tight Tonight”. And on the new single, The Bablers do it again.

“Together Forever” is a highly sophisticated, groovy and infectiously catchy pop song of the kind Feetwood Mac could have delivered in their hitmaking heyday, with echoes of Marvin Gaye and late 70’s California sunshine pop shining through. The track is already a proven winner: the band's singer-songwriter Arto Tamminen received Finland's Grammy (Emma) Award for it when the Finnish version of the song was chosen as The Song of the Year in his native land. The reason for that victory is just as apparent in the English-language version. “It's a romantic feel-good song,” says Arto. “I hope listeners will let the song take them to a different time and place and enjoy the ride.” And that's what THE BABLERS' music always does, in more ways than one. With release details for LIKE THE FIRST TIME coming soon, listeners can look forward to sharing the trip with them.

Finnish guitar pop supergroup THE BABLERS continue their blockbuster series of new singles with “Thinking Of You,” out October 20. The new track is a true rocker and a major shifting of gears from the contemplative piano ballad “Mr. King” that marked the previous standalone track from the band that's been defining Finnish power pop since the late '70s.

BABLERS founder, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen – who's led the band, now alongside Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) since those early days – explains how the energy of the new song is an important side of the band's multifaceted identity. “After our last live performance, a fellow artist came from the stage and told us, 'You guys take no prisoners!' That’s one side of us as a versatile band: pure rock with lots of power. We can be the most personal and intimate band playing pop waltzes or acoustic songs with cellos, or the most hard-driven pop, rock or power pop act…or anything in between. We always put the songs in the center. That’s the key: doing whatever is needed to execute every song on its own terms.”

And indeed, this track is gloves-off time for The Bablers. “Thinking Of You” is a pure rocker with energy to spare. The band is on fire with an instantly memorable riff worthy of 007, and the song is executed with roaring guitars and rocking bass and drums. The melody is the kind of earworm that listeners have come to expect over the recent run of singles since the band returned with the new 2021 album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS and set about dominating the global pop rock airwaves of the 21st Century (scoring a “Coolest Song In The World” nod from Little Steven's Underground Garage for “You Are The One For Me”). The intensity of vocals on “Thinking Of You” is the final ingredient making it another sure-fire favorite among their fans, and destined to grab the attention of pop rock enthusiasts who haven't caught on just yet.

“The story is an about the demanding period after the relationship is ended that almost everyone has experienced -- but with a forward-looking attitude and hope,” says Tamminen. “With The Bablers, hope is always present. It's the secret ingredient in every song.” That connection is there across all of the band's latest single releases: “Thinking Of You” is the fourth track to preview the album LIKE THE FIRST TIME, a record previously only available in Japan and Finland and slated for eventual reissue at a future date. But for now, the new single shows off the most energetic side of Finland's national pop-rock treasures, THE BABLERS. “Enjoy the ride and fasten your seat belts!” says Arto. “We're taking no prisoners with this one!”

Finnish guitar pop supergroup THE BABLERS continue their blockbuster series of new singles, shifting gears for a contemplative piano ballad that's as timely as today's headlines. “Mr. King” sees release as a single streaming everywhere worldwide May 5, just one day before the coronation of King Charles in the UK, and is up for pre-order/pre-save now at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and all major streaming platforms. It follows the hits “You Are The One For Me” (which reigned as The Coolest Song In The World on Little Steven's Underground Garage last year) and “Holding You Tight Tonight” as the latest track to hit the international airwaves from the out-of-print album LIKE THE FIRST TIME, previously released to great acclaim only in Japan and slated for international reissue by Big Stir.

BABLERS founder, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen – who's led the band, now alongside Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) since its late '70s genesis – tells us about the track and how it differs from the boisterous guitar pop of the two prior single. “It's built to be a classic big piano pop ballad, the kind you've rarely heard since the golden days of pop.” And that's exactly what “Mr. King” delivers: intimate, intense, bold, confident, and powerful, the tune has a million dollar melody that sticks in your mind, and a timeless message. As with all of the tracks from the LIKE THE FIRST TIME sessions, the song is played 100% live with original instruments: upright piano, electric guitar, bass and drums. The band’s sound is glued together, tight yet flexible, and the take heard here has a magic and a mood you can almost touch. It makes you listen, demanding attention that will be rewarded.

Tamminen lays out the backstory behind the emotive lyrics, offering insight into the choice to release the song as the English monarchy – and so much of the world – enters a new era. “It’s been a long day. A lot of public activities. Horses and soldiers. Roaring audiences. Applause. Flags. Smiling faces,” explains Arto. “Finally, at the castle, someone is knocking at the door. It's troubadour asking permission to sing a song, crafted especially for the occasion. Permission is granted. He starts to sing, and in the chorus asks the most important question...”

Both the deft handling of the subject matter and the richness of the music mark a true change of pace after the previous two singles from THE BABLERS. That versatility won't surprise longtime fans or anyone who's heard the band's thrillingly eclectic and lovingly crafted 2021 Big Stir Records album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS. But it's all too rare to hear a new work of this depth and purity of sound on the radio these days, and that alone is reason to celebrate another triumph from THE BABLERS, who are rapidly ascending to the throne they have long deserved: the Kings of Finnish Guitar Pop, and royalty on the global stage as well. Long may they reign!

BIG STIR RECORDS announces the next single in the amazing comeback story of Finnish guitar pop supergroup THE BABLERS! “Holding Me Tight Tonight” will see release Friday, November 25, streaming everywhere worldwide, and is up for pre-order/pre-save now at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com. It's the followup to the runaway success of “You Are The One For Me”, the single from earlier this year that became The Coolest Song In The World on Little Steven's Underground Garage and has enjoyed months of worldwide airplay as Big Stir's most-streamed single ever.

It would be an understatement to say that THE BABLERS are going stronger than ever, decades after their late '70s beginning as the leading lights of the Finnish power pop scene. Their 2021 album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS – their third overall, first this century, and the band's debut for Big Stir Records – introduced the band to a new global audience and landed on music critics' “Best Of The Year” lists from the US to Spain, Germany, Brazil and beyond. This year's release of the wonderful “You Are The One For Me”, a track from THE BABLERS' intriguing middle-period album LIKE THE FIRST TIME (which to this day has only been released in Japan) raised the band's profile still higher. A hit on guitar-pop-leaning radio outlets both terrestrial and online upon its May 2022 release, the single showed remarkable staying power, eventually catching the ears of Little Steven himself, who personally selected it as the Coolest Song In The World in mid-October, with a week of featured airplay from all of the DJs in the Underground Garage (including the likes of LA radio legend Rodney Bingenheimer).

The followup, “Holding Me Tight Tonight”, is equally terrific and looks set to follow in its predecessor's footsteps. Taken from the same sessions as “You Are The One For Me” – and furthering the buzz for LIKE THE FIRST TIME's first global release as an album in 2023 – the song showcases the same mix of hooks and heart that made the last single so beloved. BABLERS main man Arto Tamminen says of the track:

“'Holding Me Tight Tonight' is a song about distance, longing, and love! Being far away from the one you love, and the sweet feeling of being blessed with having someone to miss. How love can make distances to disappear - and suddenly noticing the smile on your face while thinking about that special someone, thousands of miles apart. Having that warm and most precious feeling inside knowing that you have someone one to love and to go back to! It’s also about mixing power pop and country rock, and all the heartfelt yearning they can both express at their best!”

Enjoy the ride, with a band that rocks, guitars that chime and slide, and sweetly-sung melodies with the unique Bablers sound that's exploding well beyond Finland, beyond Japan, and beyond even Big Stir's home in America. THE BABLERS are quickly becoming inescapable on the global pop-rock stage... and fans of that classic sound wouldn't have it any other way.