LIVE REVIEW: Belly @ The Academy

Belly were the great lost band of Nineties indie. Though their 1993 debut Star came agonisingly close to Nirvana-scale crossover, shifting nearly a million units and securing the cover of Rolling Stone, they imploded soon afterwards and seemed to be forgotten more or less immediately. Not for them the post-break-up mythologising enjoyed by the Pixies or the hipster sheen acquired by Sonic Youth and The Breeders.

Indeed, when front woman Tanya Donnelly decided to reform Belly last year she feared few would fondly recall Star or its (underrated) 1995 follow-up King – or that the public might confuse Belly for the Palestinian-Canadian rapper of the same name. She needn’t have fretted, with the Academy close to sold-out as the quartet, featuring Gail Greenwood on bass and brothers Tom and Chris Gorman on guitar and drums, brought the shutters down on the latest leg of their comeback tour.

Donnelly always presented a fascinating contradiction, both as sidekick to adopted sister Kristin Hersh in Throwing Muses and later as leader of her own group. That tension remained as, now aged 50 and with a day job as postpartum yoga instructor, she delved into a catalogue that combined student disco effervescence and feverish American Gothic. Bringing a leery rock swagger was Greenwood, who stalked the stage and was best deployed as a foil to Donnelly’s wispier sensibilities, such as on ‘Slow Dog’ as it segued from thunking opening riff into a dark fairytale of fear and recrimination.

Belly’s last Irish performance was supporting REM at Slane in 1995 and for any who continued to hold a candle this was a return to savour. “It is going to be a long night,” said Donnelly, which the audience correctly understood to be a good thing. ‘Full Moon, Empty Heart’ was upbeat country pop possessed by an early Tim Burton movie, the lilting ‘Gepetto’ and ‘Seal My Faith’ confirmed Donnelly’s singular status as the shoe-gaze Emily Dickinson. Two new songs suggested the outfit remain in rude creative health. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait 21 years for their next visit. ends