Urban Cone - 10-18 (2018)

An electropop group with a dance-rock edge, Sweden's Urban Cone were formed by high-school friends in Stockholm in 2010. Members Rasmus Flyckt (vocals/keyboards), Emil Gustafsson (vocals/bass), Jacob Sjöberg (keyboards), Tim Formgren (guitar), and Magnus Folkö (drums) found success quickly when they charted on Hype Machine with their first single, "Urban Photograph," and sent a demo to Universal, which signed them in early 2011. The EP Our Youth, Pt. 1 arrived before the end of the year, with Our Youth, Pt. 2 following in 2012 before their full-length debut, Our Youth, was released later that year. It became a Top 20 album in Sweden. The band then collaborated with EDM musician Porter Robinson on the song "Lionhearted" for his 2014 LP, Worlds.

Released by Polydor (Europe) and Astralwerks (North America), Urban Cone's second album, 2015's Polaroid Memories, also charted at home, reaching the number 26 spot. Filled with more bright, danceable indie pop, it included the single "Come Back to Me," a duet with Swedish dance-pop artist Tove Lo. The two acts toured Europe together that spring and performed their duet in the U.S. during a stop at the South by Southwest festival. Urban Cone returned to the U.S. that summer for a tour in support of the Griswolds. Folkö left Urban Cone in 2016, and the remaining quartet released the single "Old School" with Interscope and Universal Sweden in early 2017. By the summer, it had accumulated tens of millions of streams and marked their debut on Sweden's singles chart. ~ Marcy Donelson