Say Yes, Say No: Second Apartment’s “Height”

Tokyo’s Call And Response Records will put out a new compilation album, titled Throw Away Your CDs And Go Out To A Show, on August 16. It shines a spotlight on the country’s best “modern Japanese postpunk, no wave and noise-rock,” anchored by relative notable names in music geek circles such as Melt-Bananana and (ok, maybe not hugely known) Yolz In The Sky. But it’s acts such as Tokyo-based duo Second Apartment that really epitomize the release. The pair’s “Height” is an unnerving number featuring subdued guitar playing interrupted by drum machine beats and malfunctioning electronic scrabble, punctuated by vocals delivered in a shout, jumping between a series of “hai hai hai’s” and “no no no’s.” And, most fittingly of all, the song breaks apart completely in the back end, giving way to a jittery electro jog. Listen above.