Pie Lombardi’s second album Worry Lines presents a somewhat autobiographical outlook; the kind of life many millennials are discovering for themselves. It’s a coming of age, but not quite a blossoming into the expectations set for oneself.
A member of the popular Greeley indie-rock band Silver & Gold, Lombardi is also a soloist and staple of the Greeley scene, performing at nearly every bar and venue in town. He’s done well, in other words, but Worry Lines reflects the insecurities and unease with the future that haunt many from his generation.
Lombardi recently gave BandWagon a first-hand in-studio preview of the forthcoming album. His sound has matured since his first release, though his folk and acoustic origins are still present. The album kicks off with a delicate guitar melody in “Signals & Signs,” but he soon departs, adding electric guitar grit and inconsonant edge used in his songs with Silver & Gold.
The music, both in lyric and in composition, evokes introspective outlooks, the kind that he isn’t afforded in his bar gigs. Produced by Michael Olivier, the record’s harmonies flow by smoothly, drawing attention to instrumental textures. Sparse electric guitars reflect empty streets, while unique song structures follow unaligned stars.
“[I want to be] colorful yet simple at the same time, conveying a message as simply as possible, without being too bland,” Lombardi says, pulling in friends from other bands to form Worry Lines’ personnel. Each add their own essence and experiences, thickening the album’s sonic influence.
“I’m not really limiting myself to a genre,” Lombardi said. “I’m trying to get into a bigger scope of just writing and not really thinking about what it’s supposed to sound like. In this album I feel like I haven’t quite achieved [perfection] yet,” he says, “but it’s a big step.” Worry Lines, he believes, gets him closer to finding his voice in a dissonant world.
Lombardi celebrates the release of Worry Lines this Friday, January 25 with a performance supporting Neyla Pekarek at the Moxi Theater, 802 8th St. in downtown Greeley.
