Ludo + YouTube + Los Angeles = You're Awful, I Love You

When we last checked in with Ludo, the quintet was heading off to Los Angeles -- and specifically Sound City Studios, where Weezer's Pinkerton and Nirvana's Nevermind were recorded -- to create a record with producer Matt Wallace (he hand a hand in the Replacements' Don't Tell a Soul! And Faith No More's Angel Dust. Wow!).

Anyway, what emerged from these sessions is You're Awful, I Love You, Ludo's upcoming debut for Island Records. I've heard the entire disc; to say it's excellent is a vast understatement. It's poppy, it's catchy, it's smartly arranged, it's (sometimes) hysterical, it's (often) sweet. (Most of the songs I wrote about in this column made the cut; out of those I wrote about, the finished versions of "Such As It Ends" and "In Space" are clear highlights.) I'm completely excited to share songs with you guys as soon as I get the go-ahead from the powers-that-be (hint, hint).

Here's the tracklisting for Awful; the band also has a new song up on its MySpace, called "Love Me Dead." And, like any good modern band worth its salt, Ludo made some videos for fans to show 'em the recording, making the entire process less transparent and way more accessible. Here are the first two installments, which are also found on YouTube at youtube.com/user/TheLudoVideoThing.

Tracklisting:
1. Love Me Dead
2. Drunken Lament
3. Please
4. Topeka
5. Lake Pontchartrain
6. Such As It Ends
7. Mutiny Below
8. Streetlights
9. Go-Getter Greg
10. The Horror of Our Love
11. Scream, Scream, Scream
12. In Space

Episode one:

Episode two:

-- Annie Zaleski