It was some time ago when I saw Mema Wilda play a gig at The Tuning Fork, where she accompanied herself on an acoustic and was joined by just one other musician. I thoroughly enjoyed what I heard, and then the next time I heard her was when she performed on the single Where We’ll Go with Sam Bartells, but that was nearly two years ago and somehow I have missed seeing her since then. What I did not realise was that she had turned herself into a full band, and while she provides guitar and vocals, she is now joined by Shellita Goldsmith (drums), Kent Mori (lead guitar), Mitch French (bass) and Hariata Makiha (second vocal).
With a change in approach, it is probably no surprise to hear there is a distinct change in her music as well, as now we have Going Wild, a nice chugging rock number with lots of breaks and sections so it seems much longer than the 3:30 it is. The chorus is a singalong monster, and this has all the commerciality of a massive radio hit while also guaranteeing people singing this at the top of their voices at gigs.
Given this is their debut single I am completely blown away, as while Mema’s vocals are always to the fore this is very much a band effort with everyone contributing to a monster which has Greg Haver’s production all over it to lift it to the next level. So, when do we get the album? This should be huge.
About the author Kev Rowland
From 1990 – 2006 I ran Feedback fanzine in the UK, writing about bands that were rarely covered in the mainstream press, many of whom were in the underground scene. I built close ties with many British Progressive groups in particular, including writing the newsletter for Freewill, getting gigs for Credo and writing the introduction to Galahad’s OCMDII compilation. I reviewed literally thousands of cassettes and then CDs from bands from throughout the world, and was lucky enough to interview many of them. During this period I also contributed to the French progzine Acid Dragon, wrote for the music newspaper Rock ‘n’ Reel and was also involved with the Ghostland website. In 2006 I moved to NZ, and stopped running Feedback (which was then renamed Amplified after I left, at my request) having produced over 80 editions with more than 11,000 pages of print and heaven knows how many reviews
More by Kev Rowland
Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland – 07/07/2023
Single Review: Love and War
Single Review: All This Time
Single Review: Sons of Savages
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland – 26/05/2023
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland – 27/05/2023
Single Review: Beautiful Creature
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe – 24/05/2023
EP Review: Bridge City Crew
Single Review: Your Heart of Gold
Single Review: The Strangest Dream
Single Review: No Funeral Blues
