Bell Orchestre

Brought to life in Montreal round about the same time as Arcade Fire, and sharing personnel with that globally triumphant outfit (violinist Sarah Neufeld and bassist Richard Parry), Bell Orchestre is what happens when restlessly inventive, classically trained musicians enter the contemporary post-rock space. A list of influences — which must include late-era Talk Talk as well as classical minimalists like Philip Glass — offers only a hint of what it feels like to spend quality time with their two albums to date, the most recent of which As Seen Through Windows made it onto the 2009 long list for the Polaris Prize. There's so much going on here that fresh listens guarantee new rewards, from the swiftly passing soundscape of "Quintet" to the subtle aural sparkles of "Les Lumieres Pt.1" and their amazing un-digital cover of the Aphex Twin's "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball."