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.[3]
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".[4][5]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".[6]
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".[7] 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."[7]
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.
Reviewing Brotherhood for the Los Angeles Times, Steve Hochman wrote that New Order "makes atmospheric grooves with more finesse than any contemporary computer-rocker."[16] 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."[15]
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."[11] 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."[4]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."[14]The A.V. Club's Josh Modell called Brotherhood "an unsung great of the catalog that's dwarfed a bit by its massive single".[5]
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.
"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. [note: The booklets to the 2008 UK reissues do not contain track listings for the second CDs. Is this different in other markets, such as the USA?]
2024 Definitive Edition
Announced on September 4th, 2024 and released on November 22nd, 2024. Brotherhood was released apart of the Definitive series. The box-set featured newly remastered LP and CP of the original album, an additional CD of demos, remixes, and rare tracks. Two DVDs of live performances, broadcasts, and a documentary made by Stephen Morris. The box-set also featured a book about the production of the album.[17]
Alongside the release of the box-set, repressed 12" singles "Bizarre Love Triangle", "State of the Nation", and "Touched By The Hand of God" were issued.[17]
Three songs featured on the bonus CD were added to streaming platforms before the release of the box-set: "Blue Monday '88 (Michael Johnson 12" Mix)", "Bizarre Love Triangle (Stephen Hague 12" Remix)", and "State of the Nation (Japan Demo)".
On December 5th 2025, Brotherhood was reissued on CD featuring both the original album and the bonus disc found in the Definitive set. Marking the first time any additional material from the Definitive series was available to purchase outside of the box-set. Additionally, a Blu-ray audio edition of Brotherhood featuring three mixes was released. The 2024 stereo remaster of the Definitive box-set, a Dolby Atmos 5.1 surround sound stereo mix produced by Steven Wilson, alongside instrumental versions of the newly produced mixes.[18]
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