A CD compilation of Eyeless in Gaza’s two best vinyl LPs (Caught in Flux and Rust Red September are close runners-up), this is a fine snapshot of the duo’s transitional period, from the minimalist early days into a sound that was noticeably more accessible but not quite yet pop. The reissue actually cheats a bit by putting the albums in reverse chronological order, with the much friendlier Drumming the Beating Heart first. Although this is still a duo with a deep interest in deliberate self-limitations — the pipe organ on the album’s front cover is the primary and at times the only instrument — Martyn Bates and Peter Becker are here experimenting with a much greater range of tonalities, and the pop song structures of songs like “Veil Like Calm” and “Throw a Shadow” are a new and fruitful direction. The icier Pale Hands I Loved So Well is supposedly largely improvised, yet it’s still more structured and melodic than what came before. The songs and brief instrumental sketches are delicate miniatures, but the best ones, particularly “Pale Saints” and “Light Sliding,” have much more in the way of melodic invention than Eyeless in Gaza had previously evidenced. This first CD issue also has much better sound than the notoriously muddy original LP, pressed on a tiny Norwegian label. – Stewart Mason