Bronski Beat - Age of Consent [Bonus Tracks] (CD)

All Music Guide

To say The Age of Consent is a great album of danceoriented synthpop music is to sell it extremely short; this is simply a great album, period. Jimmy Somerville's soaring tenor may take some getting used to, but the songs, many of them dealing with homophobia and alienation (none more eloquently than "Smalltown Boy"), are compelling vignettes about the vagaries of life as a gay man. Cynics predisposed to dismissing entire genres of music based on trendiness or a limited appeal ("dance music is for dancing, not listening") miss the point in lumping this in with more mindless forays into techno or neodisco. As the Pet Shop Boys (the world's greatest disco band) proved a few years later, you can have substantive content and wrap it up in a compelling, visceral, danceoriented package. Few bands understood this better, or earlier, than Bronski Beat. [The Rhino edition features enhanced album art and four bonus tracks.]

- John Dougan, All Music Guide