It is a driving and uplifting song about the promises made when lovers part, the likes of which Jimmy Eat World would be proud to call their own. “Scream, Scream, Scream” is a plea for emotion from a listless loved one and “In Space” is a lighthearted hyperbole in which the storyteller “can’t wait for gravity to bring (him) home.” Finally, the third track, “Please,” may the gem of the album. In contrast, “Mutiny Below” works through the conflict of a former flame asking you back for just one more night. “Such As It Ends,” with its childlike keyboard sounds, expresses the optimism of a dedicated lover. The second mood of You’re Awful, I Love You provides the antithesis of the darkness above, found in five nearly perfect pop love songs. Of course, in the end she must also “die like angels sing.”
All these dark themes culminate in the hauntingly beautiful “The Horror of Our Love,” in which a mass murderer professes that all his life’s work has been done for the woman of his obsession. The band takes aim at stalker life with “Go-Getter Greg,” giving an adventurous theme song to the main character’s unwanted advances toward his new neighbor. In “Lake Pontchartrain” a boy tells the vivid story of joining with his friends to try and escape their Missouri trappings, but as the tale moves along, it becomes apparent that song is actually the boy’s alibi for the murder of his buddies.
“Drunken Lament,” which follows, describes what happens when we finally break free of the addictive relationship and replace it with another. This sentiment is best summed up in the lyric “and when her edges soften, her body is my coffin.” Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill would gladly have had this song next to “Mack the Knife” in their murderous Threepenny Opera. This song is about the love you want to get rid of, but can’t due to an unrelenting physical addiction. “Love Me Dead” starts off the album strongly, bringing one right back to the brooding musical tone of Broken Bride. Ludo has a knack for presenting this theme with a deviously catchy style somewhere between the sound of gypsy folk tunes and musical melodramas. You’re Awful, I Love You has three moods, the strongest being the dark side of human existence. The early March release of You’re Awful, I Love You, Ludo’s second full-length effort and first on major label Island Records, was something I anticipated with great expectations. The apocalyptic zombie attack song “Save Our City” still regularly moves me to tears, and I say that sincerely.
Their solid freshmen effort was followed with the concept/rock opera EP Broken Bride, which showcased the band’s full understanding of orchestrations and composition, as well as their ability to craft stories through clever lyrical turns. Ludo was on the bill that night, and hit the stage with a veteran swagger and theatrical flair that had every single person I was with lined up to buy their self-titled album. I was ready to see an excellent show that night, but had no idea I would be finding one of my “happy accidents” - a band that wins me over with live performance and joins my list of favorites. Louis rock quintet Ludo quite by accident a few years ago when I brought family and friends to see suburban darlings The Dog And Everything at the Metro in Chicago.