La Nouvelle Gauche

Long before the Hylozoists became one of those double-digit member Toronto-based collectives tagged with the 'supergroup' descriptor, they were a small group of Maritime musicians who were both childhood friends and neighbours, or (as is often the case with Maritimers) were practically related. In 2001, this group of seven led by Paul Aucoin huddled up in a Seabright, NS studio, where they came together to merge their classical training with the unpredictable sensibility of pop music. The Hylozoists emerged with a sumptuous slice of otherworldly pop experimentalism. Eerie and ebullient, La Nouvelle Gauche caught critics by surprise. Entirely instrumental, their sound was likened to vibraphone and glockenspiel-heavy post-rockers Tortoise and Stereolab, and the lush '60s cinematica of Bacharach, or Smile-era Brian Wilson.