As Seen Through Windows is one of those almost-too-perfect album names — either the band thought way too hard about what to call its new effort, or the listener lends the title enough weight to grasp for lofty conclusions that the band had no intention of conveying. Since half of Bell Orchestre is made up of members of the ultra-savvy Arcade Fire, it’s safe to assume they knew what they were doing. The album name is so well-suited because this band is the polar opposite of that other project — Arcade Fire makes fans feel like they’re in the band, but Bell Orchestre is best enjoyed from a safe distance.

The first half of As Seen Through Windows is largely slow and measured. The nine-minute “Elephants” sounds like the plodding animal it’s named for, but, again, that could just be the title having an undue effect. As the song creeps to its conclusion, natural sounds are replaced by some subtle studio-created noise that carefully balances the organic and inorganic. The unnatural, wispy sounds continue into “Icicles/Bicycles,” which in turn all but stops halfway through, only to continue as a touching violin piece. The album is never urgent, but it never settles, so you can’t turn away.

The album’s energy does pick up as it goes. Drums are introduced in full force on Aphex Twin-cover “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball,” and “The Gaze” is by far Windows’ most rollicking track, debunking the title-to-theme tie-in. The album is perfectly concluded by the bell curve trajectory of 12-minute closer “Air Lines/Land Lines.”

Bell Orchestre’s music is beautiful, and at some points, it’s moving, but it’s never quite engaging. Unlike the Arcade Fire experience, you never feel like you’re listening to music of a moment. Windows is too good to serve as background music, but not forceful enough to exist front and centre — it’s hard to imagine playing it all that often.