Transworld Identity - T-ID - 'Seven Worlds'

The band hail from Tampere, Finland and have been friends (or relatives) for years. This is a Frontiers release but T-ID are very much an organic ‘proper’ band rather than a project and they bring a fresh, modern twist to melodic rock without resorting to the usual cliches. Some songs deal with triumph over adversity, there’s a touch of sci-fi and some have a bit of a ‘heal the world’ theme and that’s perhaps what happens when a mother with young children has a hand in the lyrics as opposed to the brainless crotch-driven stuff you tend to get from young men still in the grip of Beaver Fever! The lady in question goes by the name of Mila Bosa but she’s actually a charming Yorkshire lass called Rachael Lahtinen and you can maybe detect a slight British influence in lines like “we can act like complete tools” from the stirring opener ‘Everything Must Burn’ or “liar, liar, pants on fire” from ‘I’m Such a Liar’.

Rachael’s husband, Lacu Lahtinen, is perhaps the best-known figure in the band, at least domestically. He’s been the drummer for Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe and popular Finnish band, Popeda in the past. Juha Kinnunen’s keyboards are also an integral part of the band’s sound and his son, Kasperi Kinnunen, plays bass alongside Mika ‘Lamparri’ Lamminisivu on guitar. Mika’s guitar work on the 2020 single ‘Somewhere East of Eden’ was absolutely outstanding but that track did not make the cut this time. Another excellent early single ‘Part Maroon, Part Indigo’ is on here though, as is the afore-mentioned ‘I’m Such a Liar’ which has a similar lyrical theme to John Waite’s ‘Missing You’ and is probably my favourite song on the album. ‘Play and Pretend’ is another cracker, as is ‘Living on the Run’ which is not the H.E.A.T. song of that name but is an equally upbeat tune, albeit with much more paranoid lyrics. ‘I Never Lost my Faith’ is a triumphant and redemptive tale of dealing with curveballs that could only be the work of a mature and experienced band and that is also the case for the ‘parping’ keyboards and joyful refrain of ‘In for the Long Haul’. Hopefully the latter title is an indication that the band have future plans as I’d love to hear more from them and I would certainly welcome another chance to see them live, if at all possible.