Following a successful year playing alongside Pittsburgh bands like Emily Rodgers, Big Snow, Big Thaw, and The Armadillos, and opening for national acts Gary Jules and Whitehorse, Arlo Aldo traveled to J. Bird Studio, a converted farmhouse on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, to record their debut album, Zelie.
Zelie combines heartfelt, story-telling lyrics and lilting harmonies with lush soundscapes and fingerpicked guitars. Dubbed “indie-americana,” this 10-track album follows themes ranging from innocent love (Snow Day) and reunited lovers (Josephine) to the birth of hope (Galileo) and the memories of a funeral (Highway). Some songs, like Honeymoon’s End, are true to the letter, allowing the listener into the heart and mind of songwriter and frontman David Manchester, while others are lyrical fiction based on themes of everyday life.
Arlo Aldo’s Zelie is a genre-crossing musical journey that captures both the grittiness of Pittsburgh’s cityscape and the lonesomeness of the surrounding countryside. This album plays as a soundtrack for the winter and spring ahead.