EVEN THE STARS TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2018 - 10 to 1

Today we reveal Even The Stars' top ten albums of 2018. These are our favourite records of the year, the ones we returned to time after time in a year, the ones we loved rather than we were told to love.

Belly - Glasgow The Garage - 16th June 2018

The devastating fire that destroyed the Glasgow School Of Art and the O2 ABC on Friday night had put this show in doubt. But the never-say-die spirit of the Glasgow music community saw The Garage step up and offer the use of their venue for Belly's show on Saturday night where they took the crowd's mind off the devastation a few hundred metres away with a two-set joyous combination of songs from their two 1990s albums Star and King and a heavy lean towards their wonderful comeback album Dove.

Belly - Manchester Ritz - 12th June 2018

Belly made a triumphant return to Manchester after their comeback show in 2016 armed with their new album Dove and a set of old favourites from their two 1990s albums Star and King. A two-hour set split over two sections mixed old and new together with a real continuity of sound between songs written nearly twenty five years apart.

Belly - Dove

Dove is the reformed Belly's first album since 1995's King. Self-released via a Pledge campaign that was set up following a successful reunion tour in mid 2016, the album draws from their two 1990s albums Star and King enough to make it very obviously a Belly album, but they've also given it a modern shine and with no pressure for commercial success and the band clearly having more fun than they ever did in the past as a result, it's the perfect comeback, greater than the sum of its parts and the expectations placed on it.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Belly - Stars Align

Stars Align is the second track to be revealed from Belly's comeback album Dove, due for release on May 4th.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Belly - Shiny One

Shiny One is the first original new material from Belly for twenty-three years and is the lead track from their comeback album Dove that is released in May. The song both effortlessly revives hazy memories of their two albums Star and King, but also packs a beautifully melodic and contemporary punch with layered harmonies and melodies running through it

Belly - Interview (Tanya Donelly)

After a series of triumphant comeback shows in Europe and the US in 2016, Belly recently announced that they would be releasing their long-awaited third album, and their first since 1995's King, in April 2018 via Pledge Music. We spoke to Tanya Donelly about the recording process, the comeback to date and she revealed some exciting news about UK dates for the summer of 2018.

Belly - London Kentish Town Forum - 21st July 2016

Belly completed their reunion UK tour with a celebratory show at London's Kentish Town Forum. Even tighter and more joyful than the Leeds and Manchester shows earlier in the week, the show was an absolute triumph, a band back together for the very evident love of making music and playing live.

Belly - Leeds University Stylus - 16th July 2016

As reunions go, Belly's is probably the least heralded of the plethora of 1990's 4AD acts that reformed, despite them actually getting a better chart position with their debut album Star than any of the more feted acts ever achieved. Tonight's Leeds University shows though that they're the most special of all of them.

Belly - Interview

Belly's return is one of the least-heralded yet most-anticipated returns of the past few years, at least in the Even The Stars household. The four-piece enjoyed significant success in the UK with their number two album Star in 1993 and its follow-up King. They split shortly after and Tanya Donelly pursued a solo career for a number of albums including last year's Swan Song series. Earlier this year, Belly announced a series of UK dates for July and promised new material. We spoke to them ahead of their UK tour which starts in Glasgow on July 15th.

Belly Announce Return

It was with some excitement we read the post on Tanya Donelly's Twitter feed that Belly were reforming twenty years after they split up for some UK and US dates later in the year and that new material was on the way. They shone briefly but brightly between 1992 and 1995 and produced in Star and King two of the best albums of that time as well as some of our favourite ever live shows.