Ravi Shavi’s “Moneyback” casts a skeptic eye on a capitalist system
These days, there’s always someone telling people how they should manage their finances. They talk about which stocks to buy into, which kind of business to start, or which type of bank account they should make deposits in, and it’s never easy to tell whether or not it’s an absolute scam. Providence garage pop act Ravi Shavi offer their two cents with the single “Moneyback,” which is out today. It’s featured on their upcoming album Wild Rock Dove that’ll be released on June 12.
Directed and shot by Luke Politelli, the music video for “Moneyback” depicts the urban landscapes of both New York City and Providence with shots of casino machines and a night at Nolan’s Corner Pub, which is located in the band’s home city. In a stylistic sense, the song evokes a mix of surf rock and R&B while exuding a sly and smooth charisma.
“Luke directed two videos for his brother Nick Politelli last year that really caught my eye,” Ravi Shavi frontman Rafay Rashid says about the making of the video for the single. “There was poetry in his camcorder visuals and a keen sense of mood that felt expressive and fitting. We’ve also navigated the same spaces for a long time, including Nolan’s where the pool sequence was filmed, and we belong to the same crew of friends and family, so there was an inherent trust and familiarity. The song started at home and was developed during a session with Atlantic Thrills’ Daniel Tanner, then workshopped during our reacclimation into playing out post-Covid and post-sobriety. I was thinking about being a free subject in a democratic, capitalist system; this constant investment into the market and into the self; like just waiting eternally on the return and not quite being able to see if all your life’s investments are going to be worth it.”
“It’s also just about the very human feeling of not knowing your worth as a free subject in general, and the accompanying existential angst of self-appraisal,” he adds. “I think there is something dark and insidious about the concept of ‘investing in yourself.’ The video features this sort of cheap lottery aesthetic with a gamble gone wrong and I think provides a nice hyperbolic visual for a song that’s kind of cautioning against living for some optimized future. Chase Ceglie provided a nice lounge sax, which plays nicely into the seductive feeling that self-enterprising, in all its forms; can give to the human heart.”
As an initial preview to the upcoming full-length, “Moneyback” sets the tone for a theme of social and political critiques, which is increasingly one they’ve been exploring. As we look forward to the album’s release, check out the lead single.
