THE BABLERS - Together Forever
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.
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.
