As Seen Through Windows (Bonus Track Version)

As an acoustic instrumental band with electric elements, thoughts of post-rock pioneers Tortoise naturally come to mind when listening to the music of Bell Orchestre. And famously featuring two members of Arcade Fire — Richard Reed Parry (double bass/keyboards/percussion) and Sarah Neufeld (violin), the Montreal-based sextet’s sophomore album As Seen Through Windows was in fact recorded with Tortoise co-founder John McEntire at his Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago. The result is a ten-track adventure in which each composition is like a different child from the same set of parents — individualistic yet linked by the same heritage. With subtle electronic elements over violin and double bass, “Icicles / Bicycles” opens sounding like 21st century chamber music as piped into commuter shuttles to the moon before energetic rock drumming pulls it back into the stratosphere. There’s a retro-jazz noir to “Dark Lights” and its pizzicato bassline, while the iTunes Store bonus track “Quintet” concludes As Seen Through Windows with a sense of brass serenity.