Belly - Dove 20+ Years in the Making

Belly was formed in 1991 when Tonya Donelly of Throwing Muses and Breeders decided she needed a new creative outlet for her dreamy pop style of music that was different from what Breeders had done.  Although they are all from Rhode Island, they are still known more as a Boston Based band.

All four of the original members all attended the same high school in Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island.  Fred Abong played bass and Tom Gorman on guitar with Chris Gorman on Drums.  The Gormans we part of the punk scene in Rhode Island playing in the band Verbal Assault.  in 1993 Abong left the band and was replaced by Gail Greenwood.

The band released several EPs that gained popularity in the UK before releasing their debut album Star in 1993.  Star was certified gold mainly because the big hit "Feed the Trees" that got lots of radio play and MTV video time.  They went on to promote the album and were on the road a long time before getting to release their second follow up album King in 1995.

Feed the Trees - Official Video

King was not as successful as Star as the album was more rock that pop and it was the time of Grunge as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and many others dominated the music scene.  So Donelly called it quits.  She said she wasn't having fun and it was time to quit.

Donelly went on to have a successful solo career over the years playing shows and writing new tunes.  Fast forward to 2016 and she gets the band back together with a couple of live performances and new songs.  Two years later in 2018 Dove is released featuring 11 songs and 50 minutes of music.

Dove picks up essentially where they left off.  They didn't go for a complete new sound but took what worked for them and continued to improve on the structure of it making a fantastic new album.  Suffer the Fools is my highlight of the album talking of relationships and all the ups and downs.  The beautiful melodies and the talk about I'd rather suffer you than suffer the fools. 

Shiny one brings a nice beat together with the rolling bass, fuzzy guitars and Donelly's beautiful voice.  Here's a sample of it from their official YouTube:

The soft low ballad of Quicksand is a really nice addition to the mix of songs going from poppy to rock throughout this album.  The final song Heartstrings is a really nice finale to the album giving you a song of just acoustic guitar and hearing Donelly singing is awesome.

Dove really brings it back to the old songs with a refreshing newness to them.  The band will be doing a bunch of European festivals in June and then headed back to the US to perform some dates from coast to coat.  For more info on tours and the band head over to their official website http://bellyofficial.com.

Pick this album up and go back and listen to the old ones as well.  You will get a little of that early 90's back and relive some today.