Hillsong United's latest release, Zion, has pushed the boundaries of what's considered 'contemporary Christian music' once again, appealing to new audiences. 

I think my favorite thing about ZION is that it all points to one thing- the kingdom of God established here on earth and in our lives, "Matt Crocker of Hillson United recently told CCM Magazine, "So, I want the listen to engage with the lyrics more than anything. We didn't want to just record another album for the sake of it, so everything had to have a reason for being on the album. It's a journey that we want people to experience start to finish, so they can fully immerse themselves in the story and fell what we were feeling when we wrote and recorded this album."

Electronica meats melodic and worshipful vocals are found on the new album. It opens with "Relentless", a track that sounds something like an 80s dance floor piece meets dub step meets cold play. 

The album can easily be viewed as an anthem album, setting the tone to a new generation of worshippers that are hipster-cool, and radically free in spirit. As the rumpus drums and rhythmic loops pull the listener in and evoke a contagious head swag; the listener can almost see an army of Relevant reading 20-somethings, slightly anti-establishment, but mainly pro-Jesus. 

"'Zion' is the sound of a band coming into their own. A bold step forward into unexplored territory that comes through as powerful yet contemplative, unique yet familiar.The past accusations of 'Theology Lite' are less applicable here. 'Zion' is one of the most theocentric I've seen from Hillsong." Biblesociety.org said in a recent interview.

All in all, Hillsong seems to be veering from its traditionally main-stream sound, embracing the indie movement of thoughtful lyrics and creativity and ingenuity in arrangement. This album feels like they wrote it for God, and not for the throngs of Hillsong fans around the globe. 

The album was released on Feb 26 and is available on iTunes, Amazon, and in Christian Book stores. Its runtime is 90 minutes and 16 seconds but the deluxe edition offers users an extra 26 minutes of listening time.