BELL ORCHESTRE – AS SEEN THROUGH WINDOWS

Here is a very unusual birth for an indie band – a Canadian dance troupe enlist a bunch of experimental instrumentalists to workshop some fringe theatre, and when the dancing eventually stopped, the music lived on. Born out of these improvisations comes Bell Orchestre, presenting us with an album of semi-improvised compositions that truly feel like a remnant of a bygone era of traditional folk music-making; whilst embracing electronica and noise-art to subtly push the boundaries of experimentation. The mix of instruments is intriguing, sometimes bizarre – laptop swirls contend with harps, guitars, found objects, wordless voices, percussion and cloudy brass and woodwinds to play with dissonance, production aesthetics and form. You could almost detect a hint of John Barry in the more thematic moments; and their away-with-the-fairies distorted aesthetic is bound to be embraced in the film world. Some moments ring of label-mates Broken Social Scene such as the walking, skewed Elephants and the gorgeous Dark Lights.This is thrilling and highly textural listening from a bewildering and fresh creative force in music; full of colour, madness, light and dark.

****