Gorgeously arranged and impeccably played, Nada Surf's second 2016 release, Peaceful Ghosts: Live with Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, showcases the beloved New York rock outfit in concert backed by the esteemed Potsdam, Germany-based orchestra. The album comes on the heels of Nada Surf's eighth studio album, 2016's You Know Who You Are, and features songs from that album alongside a handful of well-chosen back catalog standouts. Produced by longtime Nada Surf associate Martin Wenk, the album features orchestral arrangements from Germany's Max Knoth, who has worked with such luminaries as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lou Reed, and Danny Elfman, and supplied the scores for various films including Cloud Atlas and Turtle: The Incredible Journey. Culled from two live performances Nada Surf performed with the orchestra in Vienna and Potsdam, Peaceful Ghosts is a lush, measured, and beautifully constructed album. Knoth frames lead singer Matthew Caws' emotive croon in nuanced, sophisticated arrangements that still leave plenty of room for the band's surfy, electric guitar accents and buoyant rhythms. Songs like "Comes a Time," off 2005's The Weight Is a Gift, "Blizzard of '77," off 2002's Let Go, and "Believe You're Mine," off You Know Who You Are are already deeply heartfelt in their original form, and gain added depth and poignancy from the orchestral setting. Similarly, fan favorites like the sparklingly poetic "Blonde on Blonde" and the yearning "Inside of Love," both off Let Go, are transformed into sweeping, cinematic anthems that lose none of their core intimacy. Ultimately, Peaceful Ghosts: Live with Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg works as both an exquisite companion album to You Know Who You Are and as a heartfelt, lovingly crafted thank you note to Nada Surf's fans.
© Matt Collar /TiVo