Tanya Donelly rocks. Period. End of discussion. You’d be hard pressed to find someone with more indie music cred. She was a founding member of not one, not two, but three seminal bands: Throwing Muses (with her stepsister Kristin Hersh), The Breeders (with Kim Deal from The Pixies) and Belly. Quick, name another artist who can claim that feat…
All those bands had their heyday back in the 80s or early 90s. It would be easy to traffic in nostalgia. But Tanya is looking forward instead of backward, and encouraging all of us to do the same. In 2018, her band Belly released Dove, their first album in 23 years. They haven’t missed a beat – it’s fantastic.
The song “Human Child” is on the new release, and it’s all about looking forward:
We let ourselves be owned by things long gone
Old photographs, old songs
Wrap us in ghosts
Oh human child
Your face to the wind, your back to the sun
Oh human child
You’re digging up bones and miss all the fun
I’m not here to save you I’m just trying to get you outside
Get yourself out of your way and pull your head out of the shade
Belly’s bassist Gail Greenwood created a video for the song, using mostly footage from a 1993 tour.
And here’s their live performance from KEXP, with a career-spanning set list.
You done said…