If you had to compare/contrast it to Orange... what is the scale?
Not really comparable.
Aria is not a romance, tragedy or drama. It's about enjoying life as much as you can, every day. Exploring the natural world around you, building positive relationships, working towards a purpose. You're meant to watch the show and feel relaxed, all the time.
Orange is 13 episodes long all of which revolve around the same emotional teenage themes. Aria has a 26 episode season dedicated to world building. Nothing quite like it in the genre.
That said, I'm pretty sure you'll dislike it while enjoying orange. Not only because you're a contrarian, but even SOL fans struggle to get into it sometimes. one of the slowest paced anime ever.