1986 studio album by New Order

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).

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

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

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.

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

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)