MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Still some fire in Donelly's Belly
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Belly
Leeds Beckett University
TANYA DONELLY was recording a series of swansong EPs and planning her retirement from the music industry when the opportunity arose to tour with a re-formed Belly in 2016.
The Rhode Island quartet, who’d burned out after the commercial failure of second album King, had such good fun that they decided to work on some new songs. The result is the just-released Dove, their first original material in 23 years and their most collaborative effort to date.
This isn’t the only indication that time has healed any rifts among the personnel. The two-part set is characterised by the affectionate teasing families indulge in. Bassist Gail Greenwood is the ringleader, walking on stage and immediately informing drummer Chris Gorman that he can text during the largely acoustic Thief.
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SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys, with minor reservations, the Northern Ballet’s revival of its 1992 classic
SUSAN DARLINGTON revels in an exhilarating adaptation of the gruesome fairytale that invokes the real-life horror of women lost to male violence
SUSAN DARLINGTON is disappointed by a show that aims to highlight misogyny within the police but fails to arrest the audience's attention
SUSAN DARLINGTON revels in a band that know their own continuing relevance
