1. Yours
2. Spark
3. Mountaintop
4. Fell Apart
5. Be Still, O My Soul
6. Wake Me Up
7. I Have A Dream (it Feels Like Home)
8. La Rêve
9. Love
10. Holy (wedding Day)
11. Benediction
12. Bonus - Manifesto (radio Edit)
The City Harmonic - I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)
Canadian rock/worship outfit The City Harmonic showed early promise with an 'Introducing...' EP last year, leaving many people eagerly awaiting a full-length taste of this four piece band. Now they're ready to deliver that debut album, 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' packed full of the types of songs that earnt them well deserved acclaim for their six-song taster.
The dramatic drum beat and clashing cymbals announce first song 'Yours', whilst distorted guitar riffs punctuate the darkness. The brilliant lead vocals set this out as a U2/Coldplay themed passion filled opener with singer Elias Dummer varying his vocal tone,... Read More Canadian rock/worship outfit The City Harmonic showed early promise with an 'Introducing...' EP last year, leaving many people eagerly awaiting a full-length taste of this four piece band. Now they're ready to deliver that debut album, 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' packed full of the types of songs that earnt them well deserved acclaim for their six-song taster.
The dramatic drum beat and clashing cymbals announce first song 'Yours', whilst distorted guitar riffs punctuate the darkness. The brilliant lead vocals set this out as a U2/Coldplay themed passion filled opener with singer Elias Dummer varying his vocal tone, regularly hitting the falsetto notes before reverting back to the rough, husky Rod Stewart style cries.
'Spark' starts simply but quickly picks up when the brilliant drums, keyboards and guitars take it to another level. Centered around the line "Just a spark could change my heart", this loud and powerful song demonstrates why this band are so exciting. Next 'Mountaintop' opens with a pounding drum beat and quickly reaches the incredible chorus, sung in a semi-gang vocal style to produce a rousing anthem. "We've been to the mountaintop we've seen the glory of our God, He is here in the valley. He's here I feel it in my bones. Our God here and now" all the while accompanied by piano, guitars and thrashing drums which combine to produce a spine tingling wall of sound.
'Fell Apart' once again benefits from the dramatic drum beats of drummer Josh Vanderlaan with jangling keys accompanying more husky crooning from Elias' emotion-rich vocals. The first real 'quiet song' on the album 'Be Still, O My Soul' opens with a piano and some echoey distorted vocals, as if played from an old gramophone. Add to that accordion sounds and a hymn style opening, but this song then picks up in volume and tempo to add more drama. 'Wake Me Up' has some gorgeous guitar riffs and sees Elias sound more Chris Martin like on this track that could easily fill the void of any stadium.
Title track 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' sounds sensational before the 20 second intro even comes to an end. Such is this band's ability to produce the highest quality sound that I could happily sit and listen to this as a purely instrumental track. Add in those brilliant vocals and you find a song with so much to offer. A carefully blended string orchestra enters the mix later on, adding another layer to this all encompassing musical masterpiece.
'Le Reve' opens with that old-fashioned piano in a bar feel, almost waiting for the sheriff to push through the swing doors. At under two minutes it's more of a musical interlude than an actual track, but it breaks up the volume of earlier tracks to set the way for acoustic sounding 'Love', which draws inspiration from that well known verse in Corinthians.
'Holy (Wedding Day)' opens with the moving line "This is the story of the Son of God hanging a cross for me. But it ends with the bride and groom and the wedding by a glassy sea. Oh death where is your sting". With a piano and some soothing strings, this ballad is moving, potent and beautiful. I could feel the goosebumps rising on my arms as I listened to it. Mid way through a few heavily distorted guitar notes ring out, as the words "Holy Holy..." are repeated, before the volume brilliantly steps up as the sentence completes with "...is the Lord Almighty" with the backing vocals echoing the words again quietly as Elias repeats that opening line. Just incredible, what a song!
Bonus track 'Manifesto' is added on the end of this album - the song from their introductory EP that really made a name for this band and if you haven't heard it yet, either from its hugely successful time as a single or YouTube hit, you really should check it out.
A band to be reckoned with, it's hard to believe this is their full length debut. If this band don't go on to become one of the best in Christian music, then there is simply no justice. Oozing talent, brilliant musicianship, huge sounding rock songs, what more could you want? An absolute gem of an album.
Review by Dave Wood
LTTM Rating 5 Out of 5 Stars Standout Tracks
I Have A Dream
Mountaintop
Holy (Wedding Day)
The City Harmonic have unveiled their first concert video, for the song 'Holy (Wedding Day)' taken from their highly-acclaimed first full-length album, 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)'. The video was recorded live in…
Canadian worship band The City Harmonic have just released their brilliant third music video for their single 'Mountaintop', which became the fastest-rising song ever for the band at radio and is featured on their highly…
Canada's The City Harmonic have announced their first national US headline tour in support of their highly acclaimed first full-length album, 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)'. The worship band previously supported Newsboys…
Canadian worship band The City Harmonic are asking for fans to submit footage of themselves for their new music video. The band's new single, 'Mountaintop', taken from their hugely successful recent album 'I Have A Dream (It…
The City Harmonic, who released their debut full-length album 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' in October, have continued to pass notable milestones. Their hit single 'Manifesto', featured as a bonus track on the album, has…
Canadian worship band The City Harmonic release their debut full-length album 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' today, 18th October 2011. The album follows on from their hugely successful debut EP 'Introducing The City…
Worship band The City Harmonic will release their first full-length album 'I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)' on 18th October 2011. The album will feature eleven brand new songs from the Canadian band who arrived on the scene…
One of the most exciting bands in worship music right now have to be Canada's The City Harmonic. Following a stunning debut EP last year, their song 'Manifesto' clocked up over a million views on YouTube. Now the band are back…
