Colorado-based alternative rock band, No Signal — led by 20-year-old Riley Schmelzer (vocals, guitar, keys), backed by Jake DeMarco on bass and Nic Kubes on drums — builds a world of conceptual, dark, genre-bending music, pulling you into their captivating universe with strong lyricism and unique sounds. Today, they deliver the hard-hitting, dually-themed single, “Cloud 1,” the final look into their upcoming LP, Distorted Reality, due for release on Friday, August 25. 

Stream “Cloud 1” here. Follow No Signal here. 

The track explores the juxtaposition between dystopian and utopian perspectives on humanity’s trajectory into the future. “It speaks to our simultaneous flirtation with greatness and our looming potential for failure and destruction,” states Riley. “Simultaneously, we find ourselves entering a fascinating era for our species, full of potential and excitement… but regardless of the path chosen, we no longer have the luxury of avoiding change.” Although touching on relatively heavy subject matter, No Signal doesn’t shy away from acknowledging the complex duality of positive and negative aspects that characterize our present reality: an ever-present theme throughout the album.

Distorted Reality showcases the young band’s ability to seamlessly blend deep illusionment, entrancing transitions and intricate conceptual elements within each song. The record picks up right where the band left off with their previous project, venus (February 2022), encompassing the fusion of alternative, rock, and progressive elements, creating a truly unique and immersive experience. From the very beginning, Riley has kept his eye on the prize, constantly striving to break new sonic ground. The young visionary brought in the best of the best to help on this record: the revered 7-time GRAMMY-winning audio engineer Brian Vibberts (Aerosmith, Alice In Chains, Billie Eilish, Bon Jovi, David Lee Roth, Elton John, Green Day, Michael Jackson), 3-time GRAMMY-winning producer David Bottrill (Peter Gabriel, Godsmack, Muse, Mastodon, Tool, Stone Sour) as executive consultant on the LP's focus track, "entropele," highly acclaimed GRAMMY-winning audio engineer Alex Psaroudakis (Amy Grant, Celine Dion, Cher, Kylie Minogue, Mel-B, Rosalía).

While the story of Distorted Reality is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, Riley explains that this record presents a collection of new, individual tales within a meticulously constructed universe, portraying the overarching themes woven into each of their projects, flooded with vivid metaphors and distinct rules. “Each story is richly visual and intricately detailed, interconnected in various ways, with some narratives sharing stronger connections than others,” Riley shares. “While this album is one of our most conceptually driven works, we have intentionally offered the listeners greater freedom to explore and engage with the music, allowing their own interpretations to shape the experience as well.”

Leading up to the album, that group has released a number of singles, offering a look into the full project to come. The first single from Distorted Reality is actually a track released in September of 2019, “Stranger,” a song characterized by a unique blend of soundscapes that highlight the band’s musical diversity. The next song from the record, “PSD” (January 2021), combines elements of soft ambience and strong harmonies that push the boundaries of rock.  

The record’s lead single of 2022, “Jane” (September 2022), arrived accompanied by a visually entrancing music video with incredible VFX by Tom Fisher, known professionally as Glass Void (Korn, Super Future). “Jane” is the quintessential introduction to No Signal’s arena-sized rock sound, pulling the listener in. “Embers,” the most recent look into the album, was released in November 2022 and brought listeners back into their infectious energy. "Embers is a metaphorical journey of moving on from the past,” explains Riley. “The embers represent the things you want to leave behind, ignited by the fire that pushes you to move forward. They surround you, setting ablaze the world ahead as you strive to escape the flames. Your goal is to let go of these omnipresent embers, leaving them behind in your life.”

Their largest project to date, Distorted Reality expands upon the group’s roots in alt-rock, touching on different genres and themes. Many tracks on the album are very piano centric, which is a first for No Signal. These songs, with their energetic kinship, create an atmospheric and theatrical ambience different from what you’d expect to hear from the band. With a large range of sounds employed throughout the record, they all blend together when placed into the context of the universe this record creates. “It's new for us,” Riley admits. “But it still withholds our own sound, and I hope our existing fans will be thrilled by this progression, and how this truly does feel to be our next chapter.”