Ravi Shavi came onto my radar last year when they played with Napoleon at Big Snow.  They

Ravi Shavi came onto my radar last year when they played with Napoleon atBig Snow.  They were fun/poppy/I was drunk but they were good friends with some friends of mine and I got addicted pretty quickly.

Now that their new album is on the horizon and I’ve seen them play more recently (in Providence at Local 121), I’m glad to be sitting down and blurbing this. Rafay sent me a preview the upcoming offering and it’s been giving me a James Brown/Born Ruffians/band-with-a-frenetic-lead-singer-that-is-currently-escaping-me vibe that I’m really glad they’ve developed. Particularly the BR-like riffs and yearning-turned-resentful-commentary lyrics. Coincidentally, I saw Oberhofer at McCaren Park last week and I actually brought up to a friend that Brad’s stage-presence had gotten more lively/present and reminded me of Rafay a little bit so if you’ve seen them lately there’s a reference for you.

They’re currently on tour and you can keep up with them on Facebook

Right. Down to biz…video of "Mental Breakdown" from their new album from a show at Firehouse 13