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Belly


Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Alternative pop

Status:

Most recent release, Bees (compilation, 2021)

See also:

Belly's site

Wikipedia's entry for Belly

The Ectophiles' Guide entries for:

Comparisons:

The Breeders, Throwing Muses, Bettie Serveert, Veruca Salt.

Covers/own material:

Own with a few covers on singles.

General comments:

Basic alternative sound. Tanya Donelly has a childlike voice. More interesting than many similar bands are the melodic and lyrical hooks. The lyrics are a little surreal, but suit the music and are far more interesting than the mainstream. (Neile)

I love Belly and I love Tanya Donelly's Lovesongs for Underdogs. That said, they're comparable, but the stylistic differences are noticeable. I'd say Belly tends toward crunchier. I suspect that most ectophiles prefer the first one, Star, which is a little more, er, experimental, I guess. I probably listen to King more often, though. (burka@jeffrey.net)

Recommended first album:

Star

Recordings:


Slow Dust ep

Release info:

1993—4AD—BAD 2009 CD

Availability:

Wide on release in U.K.

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for Belly fans

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitars
Fred Abong—bass
Chris Gorman—drums

Comments:

On 'Slow Dust', the simple versions of 'Dusted' and 'Slow Dog' are a delight, and the delicate 'Dancing Gold', 'Dusted' reprise and 'Low Red Moon' (less gothic than on the album) make it my pick of the Perfect EP. (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)

Gepetto EP

Release info:

1993—4AD—BAD 2018

Availability:

Wide on release in U.K.

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for Belly fans

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar (1-4), bass (3)
Chris Gorman—drums

Guest artists:

Fred Abong—bass (1)
Dylan Roy—bass (4)

Comments:

The first 'Gepetto' ep has 'Sweet Ride', as swoonsome as later song 'Swoon'! (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)

Gepetto Remix single

Release info:

1993—4AD—BAD D 1028

Availability:

Wide on release in U.K.

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for Belly fans

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar
Chris Gorman—drums

Guest artists:

Leslie Langston—bass (2)
Fred Abong—bass

Comments:

This disc has a remix of "Gepetto," demo versions of "Star" and "Dusted" (all from the Star album), plus a cover of the 60s pop hit, "It's Not Unusual," which is a really fun choice of cover. Delightful! (Neile)

Feed the Tree

Release info:

1993—4AD—BAD 3001 CD

Availability:

Wide on release

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for Belly fans

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitar
Chris Gorman—drums

Guest artists:

Fred Abong—bass (1)
Dylan Roy—bass (2) Leslie Langston—bass (3, 4)

Comments:

'Feed the tree' has paired a dreamy, untrustworthy cover of Disney's 'Trust in Me' with sweet besotted 'Dream on me'. (k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)

Star

Release info:

1993—Sire Reprise (U.S.)—9 45187-2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Must have for lovers of "alternative" pop (Neile)

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Thomas Gorman—guitars, organ
Fred Abong—bass
Chris Gorman—drums, percussion

Guest artists:

Chick Graning—slide guitar, guitar, vocals
John Douglas—violin

Produced by:

Tracy Chisholm & Belly

Comments:

Lively, catchy pop. Songs with lyrics/musical hooks that will stick in your head for years. (Neile)

Another album to overcome a certain amount of odds stacked against it (namely, I had not heard good things about Belly from my friends, plus the wondering doubt as to what's in store for Throwing Muses [whom I like a great deal]). I find that Star is somewhat addictive. I kind of have to make myself listen to something else or I'll keep listening to it. (MIHARKI@indsvax1.indstate.edu)

Tanya Donelly, ex-Throwing Muse put together an amazingly catchy batch of alternative pop songs. Lead song, "Feed the Tree" hooked me and reeled me in. I prefer Star to King because it's a little quirkier. (colford@chlotrudis.org)


King

Release info:

1995—Sire Reprise (U.S.)—9 45833-2

Availability:

wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended for lovers of "alternative" pop. (Neile)

Group members:

Tanya Donelly—guitars, vocals
Chris Gorman—drums, percussion
Thomas Gorman—guitar, piano
Gail Greenwood—bass and vocals

Comments:

King is a little darker than Star, and took longer to grow on me and I tired of it quickly. In fact, I don't think we own it anymore, while I still love Star. It just doesn't have the wonderful hooks of the previous release. (Neile)

after the disappointment of the initial ep release, i was really wary of this album, but i like it a lot. it sounds very little like throwing muses, or star, but it has its own appeal. the tunes seem a bit poppier, and Tanya Donelly's voice is almost pretty in places, which is strange to hear. i think it needs to grow on me more, but it's good. (clsriram@phoenix.Princeton.EDU)

Dunno, just not as weird as Star. Tanya Donelly won with that album over Throwing Muses' Red Heaven, but Kristin Hersh takes this round with Throwing Muses' University. (bossert@suddensound.com)

i think that King will have a lot more staying power than Star did. Star is a pop powerhouse, but it sugar-rots the brain after a while. King, on the other hand, is meaty and echoes nicely in the skull. (woj@smoe.org)

I feel in the minority about this disc: I feel it shows a great growth from Star (another very good album), and I like "Red", dammit! (cinnamon@one.net)


Thanks to Neal Copperman for work on this entry.

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DISCLAIMER: Comments and reviews in the Ectophiles' Guide are excerpted from the ecto mailing list or volunteered by members of the list. They are the opinions of music enthusiasts, not professional music critics.

Entry last updated 2021-11-07 13:10:34.
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