Belly - Now They'll Sleep (Video)

What this video is

Released in early 1995 on the influential UK indie label 4AD, 'Now They'll Sleep' was a single from Belly's second album King — a record that arrived as post-grunge commercial saturation was squeezing alternative acts off radio and MTV. Belly, formed by ex-Throwing Muses member Tanya Donelly, occupied a distinct niche: melodic, surrealist, and rooted in the New England college-rock scene. King failed to meet label…

Why it matters

Represents a pivotal 1995 alt-rock crossover attempt by one of 4AD's signature acts, capturing the aesthetic collision between UK art-rock label identity and US MTV commercial video grammar. As a mid-90s female-fronted alternative rock video, it documents a subgenre — dream-pop-inflected college…

The director

Born 1970 in Los Angeles, CA; studied film at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, where he began directing indie rock videos. Debuted in 1992 with Material Issue's 'Everything.' Signed with Satellite Films (Propaganda division) as their youngest-ever director at…