ALO

It makes sense that these guys have decided to go by ALO these days. Their full moniker, Animal Liberation Orchestra, conjures images of a large group of people dressed in black and bounding about under cover of darkness, setting circus animals free from chained bondage. But judging from Roses and Clover, the group's latest release on Jack Johnson's Brushfire imprint, if the San Francisco-based quartet (originally a nine-piece ensemble) were to actually liberate any species, the first ones emancipated would no doubt be Phish. Augmenting those references with nods to the Band, ALO will also appeal to fans of Johnson, whom the group met while at the University of California, Santa Barbara.