Look to You [CD & DVD] (CD - 2005)

Hillsong United: Jad Gillies (vocals, guitar); Jonathan Douglas, Holly Dawson, Michelle Fragar, Tulele Faletolu, Kirsty Thornthwaite, Anneka Kelly, Sam Knock, Jay Moors, Kylie Fisher, Mia Fieldes (vocals); Joel Houston, Nathan Taylor, Marcüs Beaumont, Marc Sampson (guitar); Kevin Lee, Peter James (keyboards); Matt Tennikoff (bass guitar); Luke Munns, Rolf Wam Fjell (drums).

Originally issued in 2005, LOOK TO YOU is another rousing worship-&-praise concert by Hillsong United, the Christian rock arm of Australia's renowned Hillsong Church. With its accessible pop-savvy arrangements and unabashed messages of faith and devotion, the group is keenly in tune with its rapt audience, as revealed on the energetic "Tell the World" and a passionate take on Rich Mullins's "Awesome God."

Look to You, Hillsong United's sixth live album, was the album that defined the career of the maturing Australian ensemble. Before that, these modern worshipers were merely a more rocking, youth-oriented extension of their grown-up Hillsong counterparts, exchanging songs and ideas with them but never quite nailing an entire album with their own distinctive stamp. Look to You was different. The disc marked the beginning of a new era for them: it saw them moving beyond stock pop/rock musicianship and vertical sentiments into something more genuinely heartfelt, more passionate, more substantive than their collective talents and their annualized concert recordings. Previous outings were hit and miss -- overlong, meandering worship marathons long on repetition and youthful praise workouts. By contrast, every moment on Look to You is nearly indispensable, each an essential component of a bigger whole, whether it's a melodic post-punk romp ("Tell the World," "What the World Will Never Take"), a hair-raising battle cry ("Shout Unto God"), or a take-no-prisoners corporate ballad ("All for Love," "There Is Nothing Like"). That's only a small sampling; it's ineffectual to pick favorites from an album where every song contributes significantly to the overall dynamic. Look to You is an early pinnacle in the still adolescent trajectory of Hillsong United. ~ Andree Farias minimize