Belly
by Stephen Thomas ErlewineFollowing several years in Throwing Muses, as well as a brief detour in the Breeders in 1990, Tanya Donelly formed her own band, Belly, in 1992. With Belly, Donelly expanded her dreamy pop hooks into more concise, catchy songs, as well as harder-edged rock. The bands 1993 debut, Star, became one of the first beneficiaries of the commercialization of alternative rock; it rode to gold status within its first year of release, as Feed the Tree made headway on mainstream pop radio. Despite their strong start, Belly never became genuine stars, and once their 1995 follow-up, King, bombed, Donelly disbanded the group. Donelly (vocals, guitar) broke away from Throwing Muses in late 1991, forming Belly with fellow ex-Muse Fred Abong (bass), drummer Chris Gorman, and his guitarist brother Tom. Donelly hired Pixies producer Gil Norton to work on the groups debut EP, Slow Dust, which confirmed that her dream pop sensibilities had ...