Graham Repulski – Negative Highlight Reel
2.23.18 by Ryan Masteller

Get used to it, because I’m pretty much going to always drop a GBV comp on Graham Repulski when I talk about him, and that shouldn’t make you shy away one bit. Sure, he’s got similar affectations as ol’ Bob Pollard, and his voice is right in the same register. Plus, he always records his scrappy rock tunes straight to 4-track, so everything’s blissfully in the red, a perfect complement to the pop rocks and Budweiser fizzing in the back of your brain. At least it feels like I got pop rocks and Budweiser fizzing around when I listen to Graham “Goddamn!” Repulski. He’s probably still reeling from that Eagles Super Bowl win.

Philadelphian or no (and yes, thanks, he is), Repulski channels that blue-collar do-it-yourself-ness of the City of Brotherly Love, curdling the sweet nectar of hope with the sour reality of toil into an at-once recognizable and also comforting concoction. And yeah, you take the good with the bad, and you roll with it no matter what – any Philly homer worth their salt gets it, and that’s why dreams really do come true for guys like Vince Papale and … Vince Papale, basically. Graham Repulski just likes to shake the soda can – the one containing the fizz (again) of your hopes and dreams – a little bit before handing it to you. It’s a Philly thing; maybe you wouldn’t understand.

Buy “Negative Highlight Reel” and 24 other amazing releases from the artist hisself; released January 28, so you can probably still get it. It’ll probably never sell out – I bet Graham just makes a new tape every time someone orders one anyway. Absolute DIY.