вЂњBut when weвЂ™re sitting in the same room together, weвЂ™re looking at our phones.вЂќ вЂњSo weвЂ™re checking out each otherвЂ™s social media and we know what everybodyвЂ™s doing,вЂќ he says, pointing out a sad irony. The title comes from a lyric from anarcho-crust punk band NauseaвЂ™s вЂњFallout (Of Our Being)вЂќ about вЂњdestitute populationsвЂќ because of the singerвЂ™s thick accent, Schreifels misheard it as вЂњdistant populationsвЂќ and instantly connected with that concept. That seeming contradiction may lie at the heart of what Distant Populations is all about.

If there is a recurring theme running throughout the new album, it might be this: вЂњEveryone is on the one hand so connected with each other,вЂќ says Schreifels, вЂњand on the other hand is so far apart, and so freaked out about everything.вЂќ Thoughtful, driving, and powerful, like the long-lived band itself, the 11 tracks comprising Distant Populations have an emotional resonance that is only amplified by the events of the past stressed-out, locked-down year. One of the most remarkable aspects of Distant Populations-QuicksandвЂ™s first album since 2017вЂ™s Interiors-is how timely and prescient the themes running throughout its songs sound at this very moment.

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