You Are The One For Me/Mr. King/Holding Me Tight Tonight
Big Stir, 2023
9/10
Listen to You Are The One For Me
The Finnish pop wizards The Bablers have been on a singles tear lately, where the frontman Arto Tamminen, Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) continue to prove just why they’ve been considered one of the best in the area of power-pop since the late ‘70s/ early ‘80s.
“You Are The One For Me” makes for a very harmonic and swirling display of power-pop meets garage-rock, where Tamminen’s smooth pipes are complemented by the dynamic rhythm section of Gröhn and Haavisto.
“Holding Me Tight Tonight” is a bit calmer, but not without plenty of hooks, as the quartet make for a heartfelt, country-rock influenced demeanor.
“Mr. King” lands in piano balladry, where strong attention to mood and emotion welcomes a warm guitar solo from Tamminen amid the lush textures.
The Bablers released Psychadilly Circus in 2021, their first record since 1998, to worldwide appreciation, and let’s hope that these stand alone tracks are a hint at another new LP, cause they are certainly still the kings of 100% organic pop music.
Travels well with: The Flashcubes- Pop Masters; Popsicko- Off To A Bad Start