Review Summary: Pop-rock perfection.
Pop music is a harder business than it might at first seem. Balancing artistic quality and accessibility is the ultimate struggle of a musician aiming to make a career out of music. tobyMac is an artist that managed to find that elusive perfect balance; though
Portable Sounds doesn’t break much ground, its broad stylistic framework and masterful songwriting lend it its status as easily the best Christian pop-rock record ever made.
The key to tobyMac’s success here is undoubtedly his incredible backing band. Regardless of how talented an artist is, they unfortunately are at the mercy of their backing band. Fortunately, not only is tobyMac a good enough songwriter to hold his own, but his personal house band, (cleverly?) called “Diverse City,” lives up to their name; their broad musical palette, and their ability to effortlessly blend various styles together, not to mention the fact that each member is a multi-instrumentalist, only serves to benefit tobyMac’s already top-notch ability as a frontman.
Though
Portable Sounds is billed as a pop-rock record, it truly is so much more than that. From the exuberant blasts of energy that open “One World” to the infectious horns of “No Ordinary Love” to the genuinely hard-rocking “Ignition,” this album is a true joy to behold. Each song, capable of standing on its own, also seamlessly meld together to create a wonderful, emotional 45-minute journey.
tobyMac’s songwriting ability is simple and straight-forward, but never cheesy. His worst offense here is the somewhat absent-minded chorus of “Ignition,” but the song is so much fun anyways that a misstep such as this is quickly swept under the rug. At his best, tobyMac’s lyricism is confrontational and thought-provoking, notably on standout track “Face of the Earth.” The lyrics ultimately serve to complement the music, just as the music complements the lyrics.
Perhaps
Portable Sounds' biggest flaw is the occasional inclusion of a short skit between songs. Though some will obviously be put off by them, this reviewer finds them, at worst, a minor nuisance that can easily be remedied by the press of a button, and certainly not detrimental to the album as a whole.
The dwindling standards of quality in Christian music have reach such embarrassing lows that it’s refreshing to see a Christian-marketed album that not only reaches above and the beyond the standards set by its peers, but one that stands the test of time against other mainstream pop-rock acts as well. If you’re looking for a musically-diverse, highly-enjoyable pop music experience with enough substance to merit repeated listenings, look no further than
Portable Sounds.
