Ludo - You're Awful, I Love You

Genre power pop Publisher Island Records External Links Ludo Website

I must be losing my mind. I've heard raving reviews of Ludo in the past when they were coming off of their first CD. Fans that grew up in the 80s with a love of Bowie movies couldn't help but be drawn to them with the homage to Labyrinth that Andrew Volpe and the crew have built into their band name. But I find You're Awful, I Love You sounding more like the soundtrack to The Hills and less like a band who can hang with hard hitters Against Me! and Jack's Mannequin on The Warped Tour this summer.

Most of You're Awful, I Love You is just off. The album is more self-indulgent emo meets Broadway musical catastrophe for the majority of the disc than punk. However, the one song that will be able to hold its own this summer on the same bill as The Vandals is the amazingly odd and fabulously quirky "Lake Pontchatrain." The song's bombastic instrumental introduction comes to crescendo and meets a syncopated creole-esque ska rhythm which shows that this band, despite any other criticism, knows how to tell a story. Volpe's earnest delivery of fantastically bizarre lines show that this band has an irreverent sense of humor and a sly wit that many current punk bands do not posses. The song tells the tale of three good ol' boys that take a road trip that goes terribly wrong. Rather than take "Lake Pontchatrain" as a metaphor for some deeper hidden message, the song is fantastic at face value. Any time a wordsmith can incorporate Camrys, Clarence Carter and crawfish in a catchy three minutes while still being listenable shows talent.

Two tracks later comes the second of the two songs that carry the album despite the generic filler that inhabits the rest of You're Awful, I Love You. Rather than stick to the formulaic drivel or create a reprise of the fantastical "Lake Pontchatrain," "Streetlights" heads in an unexpected direction calling more on classic 50s balladeers and Ben Folds for the lactose intolerant. The progression of "Streetlights" leads its listener from a lonely and longing lover with "the pavement is aching / cicadas are crying" to the speaker "com[ing] alive / as the shadows parade / [his] hot summer blood / comes in floods and in waves." To borrow from another classic 80s movie, the rhythm section is "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance" while the incorporation of Italian styled mandolin makes the song more romantic rather than cheesy.

Ludo has the talent, they're able to so much more that clichéd and hackneyed quirk pop. Peculiar pop should be left to Weezer and the like; there are few bands that do it well. Unfortunately, with the exception of "Lake Pontchatrain" and "Streetlights," You're Awful, I Love You could populate the background tracks on many of the incredibly important "rich girls chewing" scenes that seem fascinate so much of America. It's a tough call. Eleven of the thirteen tracks, I could do without, but the two that are on are worth shelling out the $7.99. Then again, I've been known to buy a CD for one track.