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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
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

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. Some early releases came in a metallic sleeve.

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". 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".

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". 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."

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
The A.V. Club	A−
Blender
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Pitchfork	9.5/10
Q
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select	3/5
Uncut
The Village Voice	A

Reviewing Brotherhood for the Los Angeles Times, Steve Hochman wrote that New Order "makes atmospheric grooves with more finesse than any contemporary computer-rocker." 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."

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." 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." 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." The A.V. Club's Josh Modell called Brotherhood "an unsung great of the catalog that's dwarfed a bit by its massive single".

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.

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

Charts

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)

References

1. Ulyatt, Jonathan (28 September 2014). "Peter Hook & The Light @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London – 27/09/2014". Gigwise. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
2. Hall, Chris (1 September 2003). "Peter Saville : Designed By Peter Saville : Graphic Sex". Spike Magazine.
3. ^ Bush, John. "Brotherhood – New Order". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
4. ^ Modell, Josh (10 November 2008). "New Order". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
5. Pessaro, Fred (3 September 2015). "Rank Your Records: New Order's Stephen Morris Rates the Band's Pioneering Catalog". Noisey. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
6. ^ Woodard, Josef (November–December 1987). "Out From The Shadows: New Order". Option: 77.
7. Sheffield, Rob (February 2009). "Let's Dance". Blender. Vol. 8, no. 1. p. 66. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
8. Howe, Sean (7 November 2008). "New Order: Reissues". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
9. Ewing, Tom (10 November 2008). "New Order: Movement / Power, Corruption and Lies / Low-Life / Brotherhood / Technique [Collector's Editions]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
10. ^ Maconie, Stuart (May 1993). "Smile!". Q. No. 80. pp. 66–72.
11. Gross, Joe (2004). "New Order". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 582–583. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
12. Harrison, Andrew (August 1993). "Republish". Select. No. 38.
13. ^ Quantick, David (24 September 2008). "New Order – Reissues". Uncut. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
14. ^ Christgau, Robert (3 February 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
15. Hochman, Steve (2 November 1986). "Coming To Order". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
16. Brotherhood (liner notes). New Order. Factory Records. 1986. FACT 150.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 215. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
18. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0752". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
19. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 41. 18 October 1986. p. 17. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
20. "Charts.nz – New Order – Brotherhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – New Order – Brotherhood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
23. Lazell, Barry (1997). "New Order". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
24. "New Order Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 July 2019.

External links

• Brotherhood at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1986 albums
• Factory Records albums
• New Order (band) albums