"Brotherhood" has somehow come to be regarded as an illustration of the two sides of New Order: the rock and the electronic. This is a recent common or garden repressing that has a cheap flimsy inner bag and average sound quality, but it is still sold at a premium price.
Opening track "Paradise" is reminiscent of the band's early singles where their post-punk sound incorporates enough synths and melody to be really exciting. Unfortunately the second track "Weirdo" leans more towards a traditional rock sound and is a bit dull as a result. I can almost see Hooky grinning in the studio as I listen to this. "Broken Promise" has a pulse but no real melody and "As It Is When It Was" has neither. The more effervescent "Way of Life" finishes off a competent if slightly dull side one.
As the familiar synth bass of "Bizarre Love Triangle" kicks in, I instantly feel more comfortable in a world of glossy synth-pop driven by sequencers and drum machines. The infectious melody and disjointed (but strangely inspiring) lyrics combine to create a classic in the New Order back catalogue. The next song, "All Day Long" can only be described as epic. One of the elements that sets this album above its predecessors is Bernard's improved vocals because not only are they increasingly in tune, but as this song demonstrates, they are also better timed to compliment the strict rhythm of the TR-808 beat.
After two appealing and largely commercial songs, New Order seem compelled to indulge the intrusive voices that tell them to create noisy, meaningless rock (far be it from me to pick sides and imply there was one particular member of the band that drove this) with "Angel Dust". The final track, "Every Little Counts" is a seemingly light weight ditty where Bernard begins laughing towards the end of the song. When I first heard this album in my youth the laughter felt a bit like the band where mocking their own material and it didn't sit well with me. Thankfully I am a little more accepting now and overall, this album is better than I remember it being. If "Angel Dust" and "Paradise" could swap places this would allow me a clear run at one side of the record and an option to pick up the 'rock' side in the unlikely event I wanted to hear it. Like many New Order albums this record swings between mediocre compositions and electronic finery, you just have to take the rough with the smooth. 3/5
