Introducing the City Harmonic

Recording information: Howl Studio, Oakville, ON.
Photographer: James Bender.
If contemporary Christian music were put in a time capsule, Introducing the City Harmonic would be one of the albums to scream out "this is what 2010 sounded like." Canadian contemporary worship band the City Harmonic marked themselves as a group to watch on their debut EP. The Brit-pop musings of frontman Elias Dummer resonate with the modern rock appeal of Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, and Aqualung. Anthemic and arena-sized, the quartet's glossy campfire tales come no bigger than first single "Manifesto," a piano-laden singalong that's as catchy an invitation for the millennial generation as anything to spring forth from the David Crowder Band. Comparisons to the best and brightest rock artists in the Christian realm are fully warranted given the band's intensity and focus on a participatory music experience -- in other words, it's practically impossible to resist moving along. And just when you thought you had them pigeonholed as CCM's answer to Snow Patrol, they lay down the incredibly soulful ballad "Coming My Way," a cross between Ray LaMontagne and Chris Martin. Dummer and his cohorts -- guitarist Aaron Powell, bassist Eric Fusilier, and drummer Josh Vanderlaan -- seem perfectly at ease being labeled as the next visionary Christian rock act. ~ Jared Johnson