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It feels like Belly have already owned 2018. In January we noted the 25th anniversary of their debut album Star and celebrated their inclusion in this year’s Boston Calling Music Festival, and recently plugged their upcoming tour dates and successful Pledge campaign for new album Dove, the beloved Boston band’s first new record in 23 years.
Today (February 23) we get a first taste of Dove through a fantastically shimmering new song called “Shiny One.” The confident, assertive song, which makes a holographic 120 Minutes logo flash into your imaginary line of sight as soon as it starts up, is a pretty impressive comeback joint. And it’s no surprise the track is a fave of Tanya Donelly.
“I have a lot of affection for ‘Shiny One,'” says Donelly. “It was the first completely collaborative song we’ve ever done — Gail [Greenwood] wrote the riff and the chorus, Tom [Gorman] and I wrote the verse and bridge, Chris’s [Gorman] parts shaped the direction and vibe. When I hear it, I hear all four of us equally.”
Dove is out May 4, and was recorded and produced by Tom Gorman and Paul Q. Kolderie. The new LP features 11 new tracks, and required a new kind of collaboration as Belly reformed after several years away — and apart from each other. “It required a lot of trust,” Donelly says, “because we were sending raw snippets to each other — anything from 30-second pieces to full songs. Tom and Gail and I would send demos back and forth, and then Chris would add drums to whatever snippets he’d heard, and Tom would sew everything together. It would sometimes be a very circuitous route to a song, but it was really fun.”
Adds Chris Gorman: “All three of the songwriters were locked in and working in a way that complemented the others’ strengths. Gail’s writing was in top form. Tanya is able to make anybody’s song her own — she’s got that gift. And Tom has really honed his arrangement and production style.”
In addition to Boston Calling, Belly will head across the Atlantic in June for 11 dates in the United Kingdom before heading back to the States for a series of shows that will take them into October. “We’re all looking forward to presenting these songs in a live setting, and having the opportunity to play together again,” says Chris Gorman. “We should be in for a really exciting year.”
It already is.
Featured Belly image by Chris Gorman.
Belly 2018 Tour Dates:
May 26: Cambridge, MA – Boston Calling
June 9: Portsmouth, UK – Wedgewood Rooms
June 10: Bristol, UK – SWX
June 11: Cardiff, UK – Glee Club
June 12: Manchester, UK – The Ritz
June 13: Leeds, UK – Beckett
June 14: Whitley Bay, UK – Playhouse
June 16: Glasgow, UK – O2ABC
June 17: Sheffield, UK – Leadmill
June 18: Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
June 19: Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
June 20: London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
August 8: Los Angeles, CA – Teragram
August 9: Los Angeles, CA – Teragram
August 10: San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
August 11: Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
August 12: Seattle, WA – Neptune
August 22: Portland, ME – Port City
August 25: Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
August 26: Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
September 28: Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
September 29: Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
October 4: Madison, WI – Majestic Theater
October 5: Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe
October 6: Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
