Written by Nami Conness
April 19, 2023

Whatever Dad’s Grade Pending is one of the mysterious indie singer’s later releases, consisting of 7 stripped-back tracks and lasting only 20 minutes. Z Santos, the mind and voice behind the project, sings in an almost unintelligible hum throughout most of the album, reaching a soft belt only on occasion. 

The opening track “O.K.” begins with what seems to be a school teacher announcing the classroom rules to an audience of elementary students, an image that becomes clear when Santos reaches the chorus, singing, “Cause in our eyes, Miss Elaiza is nice and good”. The honorific Miss Elaiza returns later in the album, as it seems to be a character and perspective the artist embodies. This line, although seemingly simple, can be interpreted as Santos’s desire for approval, in that they try to convince themselves that they are, in fact, “nice and good”. Santos, maybe lacking in that sort of praise, builds an environment in an attempt to receive it. 

The next track, “Stalemate Spud”, has identical instrumentals to the previous song, but holds a vastly different meaning; one that details the pains of moving on from a breakup and the emptiness that often accompanies the process. Santos’s story is far from that of a fiery and dramatic falling out, but more like that of a relationship that slowly fades, leaving Z both confused and aimless. Santos whispers about trying and failing to forget about their ex partner, singing, “Every train ride home that I take gives me time to miss and think about him”. Santos’s laments later grow passive aggressive in the lyrics, “Am I boring you? I’m probably boring you” and “Are you ignoring me? Stop fucking ignoring me”. The timid vocals paired with some clever dining room metaphors helps make this song into the perfect breakup soundtrack for the partner who’d rather surrender to the sadness than put up much of a fight. Even though a part of me wishes the vocals were more pronounced so the audience could hear and appreciate the heart wrenching lyrics, I also enjoy discovering the story within the song only when deliberately delving into the writing. 

Santos takes on many roles throughout the album, one being a fatherly figure in the track “Papa Ed’s Oobe”. Although it’s up for interpretation, the lyrics sound as if Z is singing from their own guardian’s perspective, someone who isn’t their father but would walk them “to the old blockbuster”. However, this track begins on a very different and darker note, not sonically but lyrically, in that in the first seconds they describe experiencing depersonalization after passing out in the bathroom at a wedding. Although I find the lyrics to be deeply confusing and a bit scattered, I enjoy the layered vocals dancing around Z’s melodies towards the front-end of the song. 

The LP finally switches up briefly at the end with “Warsh_Tippy and Zelda”, a four minute track that begins with an almost silent verse accompanied by light guitar. Santos sings about a dream they had about what could either be an ex-lover or someone they long for, in which they did their laundry together. However this sound lasts for only a third of the song, as it slowly transitions into a music break with light and quirky synths. The lyrics that follow the music break (filled with voicemails and ominous sirens) feel almost like a distraction from the rawness displayed in the beginning.

The lack of diversity in terms of sound in this album keeps it from becoming anything more than a niche underground LP that can only be listened to when in a very specific mood. This LP is not one that is heavy in my rotation, however rainy day train rides and crowded spaces provide the perfect setting for appreciating this delicately solemn album.

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