30 May 2018

As a devoted fan of Tanya Donelly‘s superb vox and her tremendously affecting songwriting, it feels vibrantly amazing that BELLY‘s comeback longplayer (third LP)
is a striking achievement. DOVE , released on the 4th of this month, is a shiny pearl.
A mixed emotions beauty with various aspects of love in the middle of it, therefore recognizable and able to touch people’s hearts and souls in various ways. Donelly‘s
sonic reflections and bewitching musings are essentially about being human and
her experiences of its evolution. Then, now and tomorrow. Life doesn’t take a break.

The alluring tone of her passionate and glamorous pop voice turned, to my pleased
ears, from twinkling and fairylike in the 90s, to gracious and majestic today. From luminous silver to solid gold. Donnelly‘s real-life emotions are wrapped in ravishing, addictive, guitar driven melodies. Radiantly orchestrated and colorfully arranged.
Overall Belly does here exactly what we all expect from great pop music. Oh yeah!

No fillers, all killers. That’s a cliché, I know, but a significant one as I only used it
three times this year. Capture DOVE’s gorgeousness and magic, right here, in full…

.
1/ Mine
Its groovy mid-tempo beat and seducing rhythm sticks instantly…
“All the gents who stole my breath and not one was mine / Like you are mine”

2/ ‘Shiny One’
Without a shadow of a doubt one of this year’s best singles…
‘Bless me, my son, yeah / Bless me, my son, yeah’

3/ Human Child
Marching drums, melancholic flow, entrancing melody…
‘It’s a beautiful night, I’m here to drag you outside
Pull your ass out of the shade, my sun-blessed babe’

4/ Faceless
Glowing sentiments with Tanya‘s vocals standing out… again
‘I tell your face that I can’t hold you up but I can’t watch you drop’

5/ Suffer The Fools…
One for the midnight hours with the lights dimmed…
‘You keep my key and my lazy letters
I’ll keep the angel that you bought to watch over me’

6/ Girl
Who’s that Girl? Another mid-tempo pop gem…
‘She brings it all and the time has come
For her song to be sung’

7/ Army Of Clay
Multi-layered guitar electricity, doubting sentiments…
“You can’t be brave if you’re not afraid
You can be saved and come out unscathed”

8/ Stars Align
In dreams, going sky-high…
‘Superman, watch who you save
Take care with whom you fly away’

9/ Quicksand
Candlelight splendour, poetic guitar solo…
“Is there a rock high enough to climb above the tides that come?”

10/ Artifact
Country feel, Linda Ronstadt echoes…
‘Don’t give up yourself to the sad man
That’s not for handy well handed’

11/ Heartstrings
Affecting acoustic lullaby for reflective moments…
‘Heartstrings come rigged
With horns and wings You gotta lift them up
Heartstrings”

Starryeyed (bonus track)
Sorrowful looking back reverie written in one day…
“Tear up the contracts we drew/Our hands gave up too much too soon”

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