Credit: Julia Leiby

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We’ve all been there: The winter doldrums. That bleak time of year where daylight is a scarcity and leaving your house seems like an impossible chore. Seasonal affective disorder—a type of depression that’s linked to the changing of the seasons, particularly winter—is a real thing, and one that cripples many who live with chronic mental illness. 

“Seasonal Defective,” the gloomy, heartfelt new single from Foster Carrots,the queer folk-pop band fronted by Felix Donate-Perez, perfectly captures the bleak struggle of everyday life when you suffer from mental illness. “The weather has turned/ And so has my mood/ I feel so bad/ That I can barely move/ I might even tell my doctor/ What would he do?” he sings in a wistful, melancholy twang. It’s a wholly relatable and wise tune that speaks to those hard days when just getting out of bed feels like a huge struggle. 

Foster Carrots performs with Keeper and Go Cozy tomorrow night at Black Cat. 1811 14th St. NW. $10.