Donelly had previously co-founded two Boston-based indie rock bands, Throwing Muses and The Breeders, the former with her step-sister Kristin Hersh and the latter with Kim Deal of the Pixies.

[3] The band's debut EP, Slow Dust (1992), made it to number one on the United Kingdom indie chart.

On several early '93 tour dates in the US and the UK, former Throwing Muses member Leslie Langston lent a hand on bass.

Greenwood was originally a guitar player in a Boston-area metal band before being recruited to play bass in Belly.

The live sound of the band evolved to accommodate her style, with its shows featuring more electric guitar than before and less of the dreamy quality of its first album.

The album's sales did not meet label expectations, and its numerous singles failed to sustain any significant airplay on Modern Rock radio.

On February 8, 2016, the band launched an official web site announcing a limited summer reunion tour with dates in the UK, Ireland and the US.

[9] Two new songs, "Human Child" and "Army of Clay" were debuted on the tour that followed, hinting that the band was evolving, while at the same time maintaining familiar elements of the Belly "sound" of the past.

[15][16][17] For their 30th anniversary and for Record Store Day 2021, the band released a compilation of B-Sides and cover songs called Bees.

[18] Belly vocalist Tanya Donelly's voice has been described as having a "fiery spark" with a "sweet rasp in her throat",[19] with a style described as "down to earth.

[editorializing] Musically the band finds its foundations in guitar rock, with sometimes quirky, but tightly composed arrangements that put a premium on melody.