The Bablers – Like The First Time (2025)
One of the great things about following music internationally is coming across groups like Finland’s cult band, The Bablers. Like The First Time is a 14-song, 52-minute masterclass in polished and pristinely recorded power-pop. While it may be overlong for those who aren’t into the genre (which means fans of the band will probably disagree), the music is infectious, and pretty much every song lands where the band wants it to, making this a grade-A, feel-good record.
Like The First Time was originally released in 1998, but only in Japan. The single ‘You Are the One For Me’ received generous airplay and was used for commercials by such diverse entities as Ford Motor Company and the Foreign Ministry of Japan. The album was eventually released in the band’s native country in 2000, but that was the last release of it until now.
Formed in the late 70s when the group members were still teenagers, The Bablers debuted in 1980 and seem to have established a recording schedule of once every two decades or so. But on the heels of their 2021 reunion record, Psychadilly Circus, the band, featuring Arto Tamminen on guitar and lead vocals, Hannu Pikkarainen on guitar and background vocals, Pekka Gröhn on bass and background vocals, and Janne Haavisto on drums and background vocals, remixed and rearranged existing songs from the original release of Like The First Time and added unreleased material as well. The result is an album that sounds as fresh as it might have sounded had it been released globally back in 1998.
Like The First Time’s lead single (re-released in 2022) opens the album with jangly guitars, an upbeat tempo, and an accordion, just in case you were wondering if this would be a happy album. Whether playing an upbeat number or a ballad like the beautiful second tune, ‘Together Forever’, the Bablers remain focused on their aesthetic to the exclusion of anything else. If you like albums that favour eclecticism, look somewhere else.
Their dedication to their sound is admirable as Like The First Time goes back and forth between upbeat numbers and ballads. Fans of the genre will love this record, but those not quite enamored with power-pop find our attention wanders not long after the mid-point. Part of the reason is that The Bablers’ influences are so naked that one spends much of the time pondering which Beatles song any given Bablers’ tune emulates. For example, ‘Sometimes’ has the iconic slide guitar sound of George Harrison (which they use on a few ballads), and the piano part on ‘Thinking of You’ recalls ‘Lady Madonna’. Occasionally, the band pulls off a number like ‘One of These Dreams’ or ‘Here I Come’, which sound similar to Tom Petty’s songs that were pointedly influenced by The Byrds. There are one or two numbers, such as ‘Our Love Will Grow Complete’, where the influence of The Beatles is muted. Of these, the outstanding song is ‘That Little Something’ – an upbeat but gentle number that celebrates the joys of fatherhood.
The Bablers have created a defining moment for their career as a band with an album that could have been picked up in 1980 or 1998 as easily as it does in 2025.
Find out more about The Bablers on their Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
