Brotherhood (New Order album)

Brotherhood is the fourth studio album by the English rock band New Order, released on 29 September 1986 by Factory Records. It contains a mixture of post-punk and electronic styles, roughly divided between the two sides. The album includes "Bizarre Love Triangle", the band's breakthrough single in the United States and Australia; it was the only track from the album released as a single and as a video (although "State of the Nation" was added to most CD editions).

Brotherhood
Studio album by New Order
Released	29 September 1986 (1986-09-29)
Recorded	1986
Studio	Jam (London) Windmill Lane (Dublin) Amazon (Liverpool)
Genre	Synth-pop post-punk[1]
Length	37:07
Label	Factory
Producer	New Order
New Order chronology
Low-Life (1985) Brotherhood (1986) Substance (1987)
Singles from Brotherhood
"State of the Nation" Released: 15 September 1986 "Bizarre Love Triangle" Released: 3 November 1986

The album sleeve, created by Peter Saville, is a photograph of a sheet of titanium–zinc alloy.^[2] Some early releases came in a metallic sleeve.^{[citation needed]}

Music

Brotherhood saw the band further exploring their mix of post-punk and electronic styles, with the track listing being conceptually divided into "disco and rock sides".^[3][4] Stephen Morris stated that the album "was kind of done in a schizophrenic mood that we were trying to do one side synthesizers and one side guitars", which he retrospectively stated "didn't quite work".^[5]

In a 1987 interview with Option, Morris commented that the "mad ending" to "Every Little Counts" – which sounds like a vinyl record needle skipping the groove – is similar to the ending of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life".^[6] Morris said: "What we should have done is make the tape version sound like the tape getting chewed up. The CD could have the sticking sound."^[6]

Influences of Richard Wagner's "Prelude" to Das Rheingold can be heard throughout the track "All Day Long." New Order have subsequently used the piece as a concert opener.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The A.V. Club	A−[4]
Blender	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[8]
Pitchfork	9.5/10[9]
Q	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]
Select	3/5[12]
Uncut	[13]
The Village Voice	A[14]

Reviewing Brotherhood for the Los Angeles Times, Steve Hochman wrote that New Order "makes atmospheric grooves with more finesse than any contemporary computer-rocker."^[15] In his "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau selected the album as a "pick hit" and said: "The tempos are a touch less stately, the hooks a touch less subliminal. Bernard Albrecht's vocals have taken on so much affect they're humane. And the joke closer softens up a skeptic like me to the pure, physically exalting sensation of the music."^[14]

In a 1993 retrospective review, Q critic Stuart Maconie described Brotherhood as "often overlooked, nestling as it does between two superior studio albums", and ultimately "more for the initiated than the first-time buyer."^[10] John Bush of AllMusic was more favourable, writing that "for better and worse, this was a New Order with nothing more to prove – witness the tossed-off lyrics and giggles on 'Every Little Counts' – aside from continuing to make great music."^[3] David Quantick of Uncut noted "an increased tension between the frequent beauty of the music and the band's Northern self-consciousness" and concluded: "This was New Order becoming New Order and if anyone was entitled to not be Joy Division, they certainly were."^[13] The A.V. Club's Josh Modell called Brotherhood "an unsung great of the catalog that's dwarfed a bit by its massive single".^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by New Order, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Paradise"	3:50
2.	"Weirdo"	3:52
3.	"As It Is When It Was"	3:46
4.	"Broken Promise"	3:47
5.	"Way of Life"	4:06

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Bizarre Love Triangle"	4:22
7.	"All Day Long"	5:12
8.	"Angel Dust"	3:44
9.	"Every Little Counts"	4:28
Total length:		37:07

CD edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
10.	"State of the Nation"	6:32
Total length:		43:39

Notes

• Most CD copies, with the sole exception of Qwest Records' 1988 release, feature the 12" version of "State of the Nation" as a bonus track (although it is not listed as such). It is identical to the version found on Substance. It runs for 6:32, making the album's new total running time approximately 43:39.

2008 Collector's Edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Bizarre Love Triangle" (Shep Pettibone Remix)		6:44
2.	"1963"	New Order Stephen Hague	5:32
3.	"True Faith" (Shep Pettibone Remix)	New Order Hague	9:02
4.	"Touched by the Hand of God"		7:05
5.	"Blue Monday '88"		7:07
6.	"Evil Dust"		3:45
7.	"True Faith" (Eschreamer Dub) (incorrectly listed as "True Faith (True Dub)")	New Order Hague	7:52
8.	"Blue Monday '88" (Dub) (incorrectly listed as "Beach Buggy")		7:18
Total length:			54:25

Notes

• "True Faith" (Eschreamer Dub) and "Blue Monday '88" (Dub) are only incorrectly listed on the disc itself. The booklet included with all five re-issued 2008 Collector's Edition New Order Factory Records studio albums correctly identifies them.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Brotherhood.^[16]

• New Order – production
• Michael Johnson – engineering
• Peter Saville Associates – design
• Trevor Key – photography

Charts

Chart performance for Brotherhood

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[17]	15
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[18]	69
European Albums (Music & Media)[19]	50
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20]	22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21]	33
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	9
UK Independent Albums (MRIB)[23]	1
US Billboard 200[24]	117

Release history

• UK LP – Factory Records (FACT 150)
• UK Music cassette – Factory Records (FACT 150C)
• US LP – Qwest (25511-1)
• US cassette – Qwest (9 25511-4)
• Canada CD – Factory Records / PolyGram (830,527-2)
• UK CD (1993 re-release) – London Records (520,021-2)