“You’re Awful, I Love You”, the freshman independent release by Ludo, lead by Singer Andrew Volpe, is a slightly repetitive, almost entertaining effort at educated rock. The group waxes verbose on the all-too-common problems of life, love and the bitter girlfriends that have left so many indie rockers in the dirt to cry and wield their guitars in revenge.
The tracks flow together well, blending the common themes of beautiful girls and artistic metaphors with simple guitar tracks and vocal harmonies.
The album’s opening line of “Love me cancerously” eloquently sums up the cynical, and obviously physical view that the group has towards love.Few tracks conclude without at least one reference to the physical demise of the speaker due to his lover’s inattention.
The overall sound of the group seemed an over-thought homage to the successful pop-rock of the mid-90s, released just a decade too late for commercial success or lyrical ingenuity.
Two tracks do stand out though, the sadistic “The Horror of Our Love” and in a true 90’s throwback… a hidden track named “Boat Song” placed within the final “In Space”.
Showing a daring lyrical style that is not present in the rest of the album, “The Horror” describes in detail one man’s murderous obsession with his lover. While the soft tone of Volpe’s voice doesn’t express the rage that the self-described carnivorous lover feels, it does give off an aura of stalkeresque authenticity that Tech girls might be able to comprehend, and Sliver writers might identify with.
“Boat Song” appears after almost two minutes of silence, but the brief three minute track is arguably the most contemporary on the album, and worth the wait if you have already devoted four minutes to the awkwardly-upbeat “In Space” placed before it. “Boat” is more mellow than the other tracks, utilizing the vocal harmonies that the group excels at consistently, and employing an acoustic guitar that would have served the entire album well.