SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “THE HAPPINESS PROJECT” Long time no hear, we thought Mark Kaw/SRM had got famous, mixing with the glitterarty. But now he’s back in touch, I’m glad. Shy Rights Movement always give good tunes. This tape is plusher than usual, same formula, Mark’s voice managing to be monotone and tuneful while the guitar strums and the voice is sad and the music is 60% slow Red House Painters and a tiny bit Duritti Column and there’s an atmosphere I detect which no one else does of very very early Tim Buckley. The recorded-in-an-empty-swimming-pool feel of ‘Only In Your Arms’ is appealing. They remind me lots of Coldplay, ha. No one in the taper world wants THAT said against them but I’m no snob and I mean that as a compliment. If I’m going to get that posh job on the Guardian then I’m going to have to start giving pompous advice in my reviews and so I’ll start that stupid too-long sentences are part of my disease and my advice is to point out that sometimes the poetry is a bit too moon-in-duney and you can usually predict what the end of the next line is going to be, fair dos and all that, but is Mark singing from the heart or just using the words that fit in nicely? Questions questions. Really got to go now, deliver laundry. (New Luddism fanzine) . SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT The Happiness Project (KAW) Shy Rights Movement were a full band at one time, but now they're a two-piece, one of which is Mark Ritchie, who also records solo songs under the name of Frank Peck. This tape is somewhat ironically titled, as the songs it contains are anything but happy. Here are 10 minimal and extremely sombre songs, very much in the style of solo Frank Peck. (Aquamarine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “VANITY RECORDINGS” The prolific Mark Ritchie keeps up the pace – but hey, wait, I thought these guys broke up! I’m so confused! And very happily so! The merchants of mope return (or continue, I guess) with more of the sound that’s made them infamous. Acoustic ballads at a snail’s crawl. This time adding keyboards to the mix. About three songs in it turns into a full-band deal with live drums and bass and it’s easily the best thing ever from this lot. ‘Delta Forever’ sounds like a suicide note pretty much. But that chorus digs deep. ‘Failure Is My Business’ sounds like the big radio hit of this bunch – acoustic guitar and distorted bass. ‘When did I become somebody you used to know?’ You see what I mean. ‘Something Strong’ is bolted down tight with a drum machine groove. ‘First Light’ is slow ‘n’ sulky and features some sweet violin and keyboard action. Feelin’ moody and low? Or just wish you were? Here ya go. (From AutoReverse fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “VANITY RECORDINGS” 2 guys including the speechlessly kissable Mark Ritchie, and his voice carries the weight of the entire world’s tears over its collapsed shoulders. Some of the world’s loveliest tunes, press yourself close to his body and you can just FEEL his hard passion for e.g. Red House Painters and American Music Club – maybe I’m just a pervert, but this sad despairy music NEVER makes me sad or despairy – I just ache to take it sooooo much. We’re talking drums and guitars and keys and things and the ‘production values’ are 100% opposite of e.g. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but 100% as brilliant. (From Dddd fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “LIVE & DEAD” 90 minutes and lots of tracks of these people live and demo-ing and underfunded under-fi recordings, and this is rock music from one of our lovely tribes of Red House Painters fans. Singer can sound like Robert Smith out of the Cure and with the cure. It has passion and tunes and 90 minutes all in one go is naturally too much yet I am a big fan of these fellas and the lower the ‘fi’ the bigger my fandom pokes out, and this tape is hung well with an almost-inaudible live take of ‘Hey Hey My My’ – tells you everything. ‘Atmosphere’ is this box’s selling point. Freedom only comes to those who renounce the world and all its attachments. (From Dddd fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “LIVE & DEAD” Damn it. Well, as implied by the title of this recording, Shy Rights Movement is toast. Damn it. One of my favorite bands has bit the dust, thrown in the towel, called it quits, screwed the pooch and basically quit. Fulfilling their fate as a UK DIY version of American Music Club. Shit. Mark Ritchie is the Mark Eitzel figure of Shy Rights, crafting melodies and gut-wrenching lyrics with a heart-on-sleeve delivery that seems somewhat plain on initial contact. But with repeat listenings the intricacies become more apparent and lyrics like ‘my soul is not my heart’ suddenly leap out. The guitar/bass/drums/keys arrangements recall somewhat Counting Crows, like if they weren’t total bullshit. The melancholy delivery will find favor with fans of Red House Painters, Nick Drake, Idaho, etc. Fortunately, Ritchie will still be able to kick the hard-soul acoustic action as Frank Peck. So, it’s not a complete loss. But what pisses me off about the demise of Shy Rights Movement is that they never even had a chance. They should’ve been bigger, they should’ve had a label behind them and they should’ve done some gigs very near my house! It’s funny, I said the same things when AMC broke up. The songs on ‘Live & Dead’ are mopey, moody, melancholy but oddly uplifting. The recording job is basically DIY. Side 2 is total lo-fi, but it’s good enough that you can hear all of the instruments and all of Mark’s lyrics. ‘Live & Dead’ makes a good definitive statement about SRM, it’s just a pity that the band had to be offed to accomplish it. 90 minutes of woe. (From AutoReverse fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT "SONGS FROM THE SMALLTIME" Here's a DIY tape with an excellent sound quality! And as for the music.. well, it sounds so 80s-like! Please don't think that '80s music' stands for 'old fashioned' as this isn't true! No really, I have nothing against the Small Faces or so (I even like them) but copying them is cool but stuff like the Human League is seen as dated... I can't understand that! Mind you, there's no Phil Oakey in Shy Rights Movement... more a sort of Roddy Frame (that's the lead singer from Aztec Camera...and yes, they were a band from the 80s!). Mark Ritchie's voice is simply heartbreaking and this semi-acoustic band flirts with bands like Sophia, Scritti Politti (ask your daddy!), Wilco and other great bands. Great tape-cover too... Life can be perfect too, really... (From The Original Sin fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT “SONGS FROM THE SMALLTIME” A wistful singer, all mid-tempo with a deep tunefulness in the strums. Peaceful 'rock' music with zero pomp/horror. Semi-acoustic feel. Songs about pain and emptiness and that. Music for gorgeous open-doored empty summer-city pubs in the afternoon alone with a tum full of mellowing beer. It's kinda what Moose would be like if Moose didn't do feedback and recorded in a shed trying not to sound like Moose. Plenty of albums creamed over by the easy-cummers in the posho press are far less good than this tape, and that is a fact and a half. (From Dddd fanzine) SHY RIGHTS MOVEMENT "SONGS FROM THE SMALLTIME" Perfect listening on a slow autumn morning when you've already listened to American Music Club's 'Mercury' and Nick Drake just can't reach the itch. (From AutoReverse fanzine)