We first got to know Urban Cone on Porter Robinson's "Lionhearted"—they of the layered and impassioned tenor vocals above the producer's ebullient dancey synthpop. With limited availability of their first EP and full-length, it really was Robinson who introduced them to a broader market outside of the band's native Sweden. Now signed to Astralwerks, the group is set to release their next album in early 2015.Lead single "Sadness Disease" follows in the quirky synth-pop footsteps of Fenech-Soler and early Phoenix but with a stamp of originality that brims with brightness against the backdrop of long, cold, dark Stockholm winters."We write music in an attempt to create sunshine, it's a reactionary impulse to create light out of the darkness," explains singer and keyboardist Rasmus Flyckt of the group's efforts to fend off the sad seasons. "If you listen to the lyrics, they're quite dark. It's serious music that's made for dancing.""'Sadness Disease' is about the psychological damage of trying to attain the idealized version of beauty and perfection that exists today," adds singer and bassist Emil Gustafson. "It's something that both men and women experience, and [that perfection] is not real, it's not possible."While "Sadness Disease" is imbued with a message, it also reflects the kind of fun only a band of five high school friends can have—cohesive, intimate and down for a bit of an adventure.The single is out October 7 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Lionhearted."
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