The tunes review of what’s new the MC Music Man takes on: Animal Liberation Orchestra

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

One of my personal favorite record labels, Brushfire Records, recently signed a new band, Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO). Their first full length studio album on the label was released in 2006 under the title “Fly Between Falls.”

This CD adds a new and different style of music for Brushfire Records, which was founded by singer/songwriter Jack Johnson.

ALO consists of four members: Zach Gill on keyboard, accordion, ukulele and vocals; Dan Lebowitz on guitar, percussions and vocals; Steve Adams on bass and vocals and David Brogan on drums and vocals.

The band was originated when Gill, Lebowitz and Adams met at Saratoga High School in California. Gill developed a relationship with Johnson when they attended University of California, Santa Barbara at the same time. Maintaining a strong friendship, Johnson signed Gill’s band.

ALO provides a unique sound to Brushfire Records, as they combine many unusual instruments to create a smooth result. Many of their songs resemble the qualities of a typical jam band, but ALO is distinguishable from most jam bands because of their captivating lyrics.

“Fly Between Dreams” contains 10 songs and the following are my personal favorites:

The CD opens with a fun, witty song entitled “Spectrum.” In this song, ALO sets the tone of the album by playing a catchy tune with sharp lyrics: “Well I can disagree with myself/Because sometimes I feel like me and sometimes I feel like someone else/One minute I’m over it/Then the next Minute I feel the opposite/Then the next minute I feel the opposite/Of the opposite/Of feeling over it.”

The third track on the CD has become the band’s most popular song and is titled “Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down.” Johnson joins the band in this song, and it is, as indicated by its title, an intimate love song.

After this song comes “Barbeque,” which features unique music and some clever ironies. “Welcome to your Barbecue/Where we roast all the dreams that never came true/Welcome to your Barbecue/Pig out and dream anew.”

The fifth song on “Fly Between Dreams” is my personal favorite, titled “Walls of Jericho.” This fun loving song reminds me of warm summer nights hanging out with some good company. This song, thanks to its catchiness, has also become a fan favorite at ALO concerts.

Track seven starts with Gill jamming out on the keys and it is called “Shapeshifter.” In this song, Gill sings about being flexible and his ability to cope with all the different situations he encounters in life: “Well I’m a shapeshifter/Throw me in the water watch me turn to Blue/Put me in a room with reptiles/And I’m coldblooded too.” This song is over six minutes long and it features a stellar jam out session.

Immediately following “Shapeshifter” is a song entitled “The Gardener.” This song is unlike any other on “Fly Between Dreams,” as it has a slow, psychedelic sound.

The next track is titled “Waiting for Jayden.” This is a fast paced emotional song that is about the birth of Gill’s daughter, Jayden and has a clever, symmetrical style. At the beginning of the song, Gill sings in the chorus: “So we were waiting, waiting for Jayden,” and by the end of the song the chorus changes to: “Now we’re elated, elated for Jayden.”

The CD concludes with a song called “Fly,” which is an upbeat song that features some deep lyrics about some unknown questions.

I was immensely impressed with this CD. I would expect Johnson to only sign exceptional bands, and I think he did so with ALO.

Although they can easily be characterized as a jam band, it is clear that they have much more personality in their music than most jam bands. I could tell by listening to the CD that the band member’s friendship is really good.

Lebowiztz was quoted on the band’s website as saying: “If we weren’t making music together I’m sure we’d be doing something else together.”

That camaraderie shines through on “Fly Between Dreams.”