Dustin Kensrue of Thrice talked with BaebleMusic about the band’s upcoming album and some of the themes expressed throughout:

I would definitely say that we’ve drawn a lot of our influence from the current state of politics, but I also like to personalize things when I write, and I’ve always written that way. I’d say on the new album that half of the songs are like ‘Blood on the Sand,’ and bring out that much more hard-hitting political dialogue, especially given that it’s an election year, but I’d also say that we try to write beyond the politics of issues. Maybe it’s more that we’re writing about something broader, like society…culture even. I feel that my writing is about the way I take in what’s going on within society, and the importance I feel about certain issues leads me to doing my own personal research on them, which often translates into a song. One of the political issues we talk about in this album is the song ‘Whistleblower,’ which is about Edward Snowden, and then there’s the song ‘Black Honey,’ which delves into the political as well.