by Dean CarlsonWith no real songs to speak of, Eyeless in Gaza's debut was inundated with an erratic pop sensibility and a frustrating non-style-over-substance sense of work ethic. Only the occasional success hinted of things to come. The one-two punch of "Speech Rapid Fire" and "John of Patmos" would go on to stand up well against anything the band later released, the former a mangled, melancholic take on '80s synth pop and the latter squealing off in far too many directions to suggest a well-adjusted mindset and using both pre-IDM beat mechanics and structureless Arkestra anti-music to deconstruct the ubiquitous mid-album ballad. [This was later reissued on CD in 2000 with the bonus tracks "Invisibility," "Three Kittens," "Plague of Years," "Others," "Jane Dancing," "Ever Present," and "Avenue With Trees."]