Distracted

BY: ALLIE RUSSELL

Milwaukee-based band 5pm to Nowhere just released One More Chance – the lead single from their upcoming project City of Light, Act II. The track marks a new chapter in the story that began in February with City of Light, Act I, a striking and emotionally charged EP that follows a man attempting to leave the city he’s always called home. 

But for 5pm to Nowhere, leaving home has never been simple. 

The band’s formation reads like a collage of unlikely connections. Jacob, the band’s frontman and keyboardist, moved back to Milwaukee after college with plans to launch a solo project. After Jacob’s first solo gig, a friend introduced him to drummer Ben, and the two hit it off immediately. “We met at a bar,” Ben jokes, “Like all good relationships.”

Over time, guitarist Christian and bassist Noah joined the fold. Noah, a true Milwaukeean, crossed paths with Jacob at an open mic – only to discover later that they’d actually gone to grade school together. Christian, who had just moved back from New York, came through a family connection: his uncle happened to be Jacob’s favorite elementary school teacher. “We all met in very different and interesting ways,” Jacob says, but it just worked. 

The current lineup has been solid for about two years, and the band has spent that time steadily evolving – from playing Jacob’s solo material to co-writing songs that now reflect all four members’ distinct musical voices. 

“At first it very much was like, ‘I have a lot of these songs, let’s learn them and play them live,” Jacob explains. “As this lineup coalesced and as we grew, I started to get everyone else in the band’s input and character to come through in the songs a lot more.”

Each member brings something unique: Christian and Jacob lean into indie rock and ’90s alt, Noah blends that with funk and jazz, and Ben – the self-proclaimed best singer in the band (though “we don’t let him sing”) – is a groove-first funk guy. 

“I think every month is a step better than the last,” Noah says. “We’re all refining our own musical journeys on our instruments and playing as a unit, too.”

That unity shines in One More Chance, a high-energy indie-rock driven single that bridges the world of Act I with what’s to come in Act II

“It felt natural as the first single,” Jacob explains. “This was one of the first songs we had fully done from this EP, and it’s the one that has been consistently in our live set for the longest time. One More Chance specifically captures the sentiment of the EP and the album as a whole, the general theme of City Of Light as an Act I and Act II combined. It’s the battle between one’s own dreams and goals for themselves and the expectations and the pressures of the people around them.”

The track marks another milestone for the band: it’s their first release with a new producer, and as Christian puts it, “a bit of a level up”. 

One More Chance also reflects how the band’s writing process has changed. Where early songs came straight from Jacob’s notebook, newer material often emerges from off-the-cuff jams during rehearsals. 

While their recorded material is meticulously crafted, the band sees live performances as a space to let loose, especially for Ben and Noah, who are more likely to improvise onstage. 

“In terms of fills, those are just like, ‘What did I eat for breakfast today?’ That’s what the fill is going to sound like,” Ben says. “It’s a very organic, human thing for me, and I’m glad for that because it allows me to shape a live show into something new every time.”

Still, 5pm to Nowhere doesn’t view live shows and studio recordings as opposing forces. “They both tap into different things that make music so powerful,” Jacob says, emphasizing that prioritizing one over the other can do a disservice to the overall musical experience. “You can get so much out of either one for different reasons.”

With City of Light, Act II, a new emphasis is placed on visual storytelling. Past music videos have featured mostly Jacob, but the band plans to shift focus. Collaborating with a talented videographer friend, they’re preparing a series of videos – including one for One More Chance – that bring the City of Light narrative into sharper detail. 

“One of the things we hang our hat on as a band the most is how emotive and cinematic our songs are and how important the story is to the songs, so we think music videos are a really good way to hammer that home.”

With each release, 5pm to Nowhere is leaning further into that storytelling aspect – not to dictate how listeners should interpret the music, but to deepen the emotional pull. This is particularly prominent in One More Chance. 

“What I like about the themes we’re playing with and the lyrical content is that they can be taken in different directions,” Jacob explains. “You have this battle between someone who feels like they’re on the cusp of something great, and they’re opposed by people who are worried about them and their safety and health. It’s kind of left a little ambiguous whether or not they’re doing the right thing or if they’re going too far, so to speak, and I feel like it can apply to so many things that all of us are going through in life right now.”

As City of Light, Act II approaches, 5pm to Nowhere stand at a creative inflection point- honing a collaborative sound, embracing a new visual identity, and exploring narratives that resonate on both personal and universal levels: the uncertainty of change, the weight of expectations, and the hope that just maybe, you’re on the right path. With One More Chance as its entry point, Act II promises to expand the universe they’ve begun to build – one that invites listeners not just to hear the story, but to really feel it.