"A little less awful, little more lovely"

Anyone who enjoys the blending of pop, punk, creative lyrics, and hair band guitar licks will certainly find love listening to Ludo's latest album, You're Awful, I Love You.

Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Ludo is made up of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Andrew Volpe, Tim Ferrell on lead guitar, Tim Convy on moog and keyboard, Marshall Fanciullo on bass and Matt Palermo on drums.

The opener "Love Me Dead" is a great track featuring punk-influenced guitar as well as innovative lyrics. The chorus is incredibly catchy and even totes a 1980s metal-esque guitar solo.

Continuing with the album's upbeat nature, "Drunken Lament" is a song of grief, with a chorus that sounds like a welcomed variation of Simple Plan, and has a drum-powered bridge with heavy power chords.

You're Awful, I Love You has a couple of strong tracks, but a good portion of the songs seem to have the type of songwriting that is sub-par compared to the rest of the album.

Ludo's potential to write good lyrics is highlighted in the song "Topeka," which starts off slowly but steadily picks up as it rolls on. Although the lyrics are a bit repetitive, it goes to show that sometimes less is more.

"I found God in a catalytic converter/In Topeka on a Monday night/Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future/So you know it keeps me hanging around/No, you can't keep a good man down," Volpe sings.

"Go-Getter Greg" is a hilarious ode to dudes who try too hard to get chicks. The infectious poppy chorus is sure to make listeners dance and sing along, reminding many of Bowling For Soup's "Girl All The Bad Guys Want."

Featuring a beautiful mix of acoustic and electric guitars, Ludo presents "The Horror of Our Love."

While the lyrics are kind of twisted and seem like a psychopath wrote them, they work well within the parameters of the track.

"I've been inside your bedroom/I've murdered half the town/Left you love notes on their headstones."

Overall, despite that some of the slower tracks become annoying, the album's catchy lyrics and strong songwriting help makes Ludo's album more lovely than awful.