The Wedding Mistakes – the duo of producers Miii and LASTorder – have a new EP out soon, called Midnight Searchlight. They’ve shared the title track, and it is a nice reminder of the weird space the pair represent in contemporary Japanese music. It wouldn’t be off the mark to suggest The Wedding Mistakes make EDM – “Midnight Searchlight” features the sort of bass squelches and pace that many EDM-leaning acts get associated with. Plus, they exist at a weird time in J-pop where EDM seems to be everywhere and almost a bonafide trend, but also sort of shoehorned – this is best summed up by hugely popular band Sekai No Owari’s latest single “Dragon Night,” in which a group usually known for charming Auto-tune-smothered songs goes full EDM…to mixed reaction. It seems sorta forced.
The Wedding Mistakes, though, are a bit more playful with the cornerstones of the style, and as aggressive as “Midnight Searchlight” can get, it mostly remains lithe and poppy. A lot is owed to guest vocalist YonYon, who adds solid singing to the mix, but the pair also avoid going for the easy sounds. Listen above.