Reviewed by Ben Lilford

Australia's Hillsong United series of CDs has always done really well at separating the "with it" from the "coffin-dodger". Keeping up with the times, United haven't just put out an audio CD to humiliate you in your decrepit-ness, they've now thrown in a DVD featuring some of the performance. So now you can see people bound around with a youthful energy that you've not had since England last won the world cup. Once you get past the Pepsi Max'd out feel to CD's music and DVD's stage performance though there are legitimate concerns about the songs on 'Look To You' which older Christians should spot almost immediately. They have as much depth in God's word as a stone skimmed across a pond's surface, and for new Christians young or old that's not a good thing to be exposed to. No one wants to be a Matt 13:5-6. Joel Houston's "Salvation Is Here" and the Marty Sampson colab'd "What The World Will Never Take Away" are two good examples of this. Both tracks sound fantastic in terms of melodies and riffs but the gospel seems dumbed down into cliché sound bites, providing little inspiration to read God's word where good worship should always lead you. This is music specifically designed for the youth market but if the songs on 'Look To You' have broken that vital link between worship and word, Australia will ultimately be looking at another lost generation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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