Customer Reviews

Broken Bride

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's no question that "Broken Bride" is a rock opera, but the music has more in common with "American Idiot" than similar narrative concept albums by The Who or Meatloaf. It tells the story of a man who build a time machine to prevent the death of the woman he loves. The machine malfunctions, sending him back to prehistory and forward to the Rapture. Ultimately, the traveler must make a choice that will decide whether he saves his wife or all of humanity.

When I first read about the concept, I laughed out loud at how ridiculous and overwrought it was. By the last song, I had to keep myself from crying. That's not what you'd necessarily expect from Ludo, whose self-titled first release positioned it as a Weezer-ish alternative rock band with a sense of humor. Broken Bride features the same emo-tinged vocals and hooky rock, but the band evades any attempt at genre categorization in its second outing.

In fact, the album's range is wide enough that there may be some moments that are too hard or too soft, depending on how you like your rock. But every genre twist and turn is perfectly executed, lushly produced, and imaginatively composed. It's an easy album to love, and one you'll want to be sure to listen from beginning to end.

I was introduced to this band at the Metro, on a cold winter night. I was there to see a friend's band, who happened to be opening for Ludo. Man, was that my lucky night! I heard a few songs from this album, and had to buy it. While the songs are fantastic alone, and the band puts on a great live show, the album as a whole is the real masterpiece.

I've not had the best history with rock-operas. They haven't always been my thing, and I often think they come out sounding forced together, incohesive, or just meh. Having the concept for the Broken Bride explained to me, I knew it would either fail miserably or rock my socks. Thankfully, it did the latter.

The concept is relatively simple - a man loses his wife in a car accident. As a scientist, he begins to work on a time machine, eventually making it work, though it doesn't always send him where he wants to go. The songs tell of his travels through time, trying desperately to reach that morning in May when his bride was killed, so that he can save her. In the process, he battles dinosaurs and even prevents an apocalypse. And yet, it's the ending that is so heart-wrenching it nearly brings me to tears, hopeful and romantic and sad, all at once.

Musically, the record is (in my ears) phenomenal. There is not a single song on this album that isn't good, and Ludo did the right thing by keeping it to only 5 tracks which eloquently sum up the story. Rather than feeling overblown, the 5 tracks allow the story to be told, and told well, and make for a story that can be appreciated in one sitting.

I have yet to play this album for anyone who did not LOVE it immediately, even though some initially laughed at the concept, just as I did. As my boyfriend would say, there is only one word to describe this album - epic. This album is epic, in depth, in breadth, in musicality, in story-telling, and in emotions. It takes you for a ride and doesn't let go til the very end, and you'll just want to start it over again.

While I would highly recommend Ludo and You're Awful, I Love You, and I'm terribly thrilled with their latest offering, nothing will ever top The Broken Bride for me. It's surpassed a number of my "favorite" albums and is the most played selection on my iPod, as it makes for awesome rocking out in the car on road trips. So, if you didn't already get the point - buy it. Buy it now. Support this awesome, friendly, funny indie band, and listen to (and love) this genius album. Now!

My girlfriend let me borrow this CD and told me to pick a time to listen to the entire thing, unbothered, and uninterupted. I had already heard "Part I" a few times on the local radio station and already knew i loved it, but thats all the Ludo i'd heard at that point. So on my way to work one day I gave the CD a spin. I SWEAR the CD did not leave my CD player for a week. I was mesmorized. I have never heard anything like this, and may never again. The tale of love, loss, destruction, traveling through time and space all in the name of love. A rock opera in the essence of Pink Floyd's the Wall, and easily just as good. The emotion and passion in each part of every song on the album still gives me chills (and I've heard it through at least 50 times), and by the end the raw emotion of the music and story still chokes me up. Andrew, Tim, Tim, Matt, and Marshall have done it again. No. They've gone beyond the call of duty. I had the pleasure of getting to see the entire set live a few days ago here in thier hometown of St. Louis, and I was BLOWN AWAY. This is what music is all about!!!! Keep up the good work, Ludo, because you'll be rockin it BIG TIME really soon. I'm just glad I got to meet them when I did. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

This being my first review via Amazon, I'm leery to sing my praises too loudly... Screw it. This album is brilliant!

This album is a worthy buy for Ludo fans and newcomers alike! The story flows brilliantly, the lyrics are well executed and each song represents a beautiful part of an amazing whole. The story of the Traveler and his Bride is evocative. There's no other word that quite sums it up. Ludo evokes the gambit of emotions from the listener when the album is played from beginning to end. When songs are listened to individually you get an epic picture of the characters, their wants and pursuits. It's a short story mixed within a musical roller coaster, and has become a favorite of mine.

It is a rock opera, but in a more epic manner than any I've heard so far, with the exception of Coheed and Cambria... though that series is so epic I feel you need to do research to fully appreciate the music. This album stands alone, and in a manner that requests more than requires repeated listenings: You can listen to it once and come away with an amazing story. It's concise, disarming, and awe inspiring from beginning to end.

Surprising considering the band it came from. Until this point I considered Ludo a back-up band for my playlists. "You're Aweful, I Love You" had several good songs, though only "Topeka" Came close to this level of depth. I'll be watching you, Ludo: You've earned my respect, and perhaps credit card number.

Cheers.

i love this album so much one of the best rock opearas ever its a romantic tale about losing the one he loves and fighting to bring her back and in the end being together again i recommend this to everyone its sad but in a good way very entertaining i love the lyrics and the beat is very uplifting and somewhat goofy very cool!

I have to say, overall, the "post-punk" or "emo" scene has done little for me. For the most part, (warning: emo fans will hate me here) I find it as ridiculous and artistically limited as "hair metal" was back in the '80s. "Hair metal" watered down heavy metal; emo typically waters down punk into commercially acceptable pop-tunes. BUT: That is not a blanket statement for ALL artists/music in the genre. Coheed and Cambria, for instance, became cross-over masters. Who would have thought emo, which is diametrically opposed to progressive rock, could be successfully blended with it? But there you have it: a band that actually has (some) fans of both Taking Back Sunday and Dream Theater agreeing on something.
That said, even C&C never quite clinched it for me. But THIS is something else entirely.
I kept hearing Broken Bride on my prog-rock station on Pandora. And oddly enough, I didn't even notice the emo aspects of it until I was about two minutes into really loving it. Not long after, I bought the CD, which is really more a long EP than an album; but unlike most EPs, which tend to be just collections of songs typically released as samples of an artist's music, this works as a five-part rock-opera-- and a really good one, at that. Classic/prog/hard rock fans will likely doubt what I say, but I encourage them to at least give this a shot. Ludo bends genre as effortlessly as a clown bends balloons into silly animal shapes. On an emo canvas is painted art rock, heavy metal, hardcore, Bowie-style "glam," classical music-- and probably some I haven't noticed yet. And the story-line-- wow. While not being overly-obvious, it's both intelligent and easy to follow without having to look up some interpretation on the web. Yet, the delightfully bizarre imagery is almost a dead-ringer for Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, a'la "Supper's Ready" and "Musical Box"-- insane, escapist drama at its best. And through all of this, the lyrics are heart-felt and emotionally satisfying, too.
I'm proud to say that this EP is now a favorite in my collection of music-- which is varied and extensive. Definitely a must-have.

This cd is a very good listen.The only thing is that I wish it were longer. Coming in at only a little over 28 minutes it leaves room for wanting more. Other than the short length it compares to The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Complete synopsis of the story line follows.

Meant to be listened to as a complete work, Broken Bride is at times humorous but always wrenched with emotion. As other reviewers have mentioned, The Traveler lost his wife in a car accident on a May morning in 1989. The 1st score opens with him already having built his time machine, but arriving to far in the past ("before the birth of Christ - pterodactyls swarming"). He gets back to his time machine and is reinvigorated to reach his wife and prevent her accident. The tone of the music shifts with the mood of The Traveler and the gravity of the situation. He overshoots, landing this time in the future at the Rapture. We now hear several new voices (both sides - good v. evil) with different tones and stories, including back and forth dialogue, which is pretty remarkable considering one band is pulling this off. This part can be a bit difficult to follow, but it does adhere pretty well (in terms of an academic sense) to Revelations stories of the Rapture - including oceans turning to blood, animals dying, dead rising, and the horsemen riding. All this gore, and trust me - my kids love it. The interesting thing here, is that in these tracks, you actually get a sense for characters other than The Traveler himself. Tension builds - resolve to fight is set to die rather than lose their souls (love the line, "anything can be a weapon, if you're holding it right") until climaxing in The Lamb and The Dragon with the ultimate choice... should The Traveler intervene, sacrificing his time machine (and hopes of reuniting with his wife) to save those remaining or watch them be slaughtered by the oncoming dragon. The choice is made and a heavenly being appears to ask him why is he still forlorn. He is returned back to that morning in May in order to say goodbye...where he has to make yet again another choice. And I cry. Every time.

I went to see Tally Hall play in Michigan (another great unknown band) and Ludo opened for them. I was blown away and immediately bought both of their CDs and now have their newest one.

Their music is imminently singalongable -- great playing, terrific vocals, clever lyrics. Get all 3 of their CDs TODAY!

I can truly say that this rock opera is an experience. I first came across Ludo after hearing "Love Me Dead" on a local indie rock station. I had never heard of the band so I researched them on the internet and came across "Lake Pontchartrain" which quickly became my favorite song (I used to live in Louisiana so I could relate to many of the references made in the song). After seeking out more of Ludo's music I found "Broken Bride".

I listened to "Broken Bride" on my iPod during a run and didn't stop running until it was over. I was, and still am, completely captivated by the story, the sound, and the journey that these fives songs express, from beginning to end. It is a story of tragedy and of love, put to some powerful music that will take you out of your own world completely if you let it.