Ears Wide Open: Sunshine Boysclub

Kevin Bronson on June 18th, 2021

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Sunshine Boys Club (Photo by Kate Hollowell)

Sam Martin has been party to a heap of exuberant electro-pop music, first as a member of Iglu & Hartly, who recently returned from a 10-year hiatus to release two new singles, and then as lead singer of Youngblood Hawke, who last fall released their first album in seven years.

Martin’s first solo single under the name Sunshine Boysclub has the same veneer — sugar-coated, vocoded and bursting with energy — though it is informed by something quite different than the party life: his battle with depression. It’s titled “Patience,” and it arrives today with a Kate Hollowell-directed video that features Martin talking things out from a dingy apartment and to his seemingly uncaring doctor.

“‘Patience’ serves as a reminder of where I’ve been,” he says of the song, which he produced himself in his home-built studio. “I wrote ‘Patience’ from a positive and healthy vantage point, reflecting back on my journey with depression. When you’re low, you feel like you’ll be stuck that way forever. The world just seems to lose a bit of its magic. But that’s just not the case. The clouds always pass.

“‘Patience’ was written as a reminder to myself that if I ever ended up in that place again, it will surely pass. This song is about enjoying both the highs and lows and making each of those journeys useful. Sometimes you have to crawl around in the dark for a while to come up with light. I have to be grateful for all of it because it’s trying to teach me something about myself.”

As for the video?

“I wanted to find an apartment that was a visual expression of my worst nightmare; rundown, decrepit, lacking any life or light,” he says. “What would my life look like if I totally gave into my feelings of depression? What if what was going on internally was externally displayed? The video follows a familiar storyline, one where you’re trying to open up to people about what you’re dealing with, only to have it pushed aside or downplayed. It can feel impossible to articulate. In the end, it starts with simple actions and small changes, like picking up a broom and going to town on that kitchen floor.”

||| Stream: “Patience”