You Call Me on the Phone, You Left Me All Alone

Shellshock/Shellcock - March 1986

New Order team up with producer John Robie again, this time for the non-album single "Shellshock". The result is a lot more palatable than the "Sub-culture" single remix. While there is a multitude of voices throughout the track, they don't dominate Bernard Sumner's vocals as they did on the previous single. "Shellshock" is a decent mix of dance music with rock accents; very New Order, but not one of their best singles. It should also be noted that this song made an appearance on the soundtrack for Pretty in Pink, one of the biggest teen films of the '80s.

6 out of 10

Brotherhood - September 1986
Bizarre Love Triangle/Bizarre Dub Triangle - November 1986

New Order follow up the amazing Low-Life with Brotherhood. This time around, the band decided to divide the two sides of vinyl by placing the more live/rock/acoustic songs on the A-Side and the more electronic/dance tracks on the B-Sides. The result is not as fluid as the previous long player, but still a really strong record.

The opener "Paradise" may not jump up and announce itself like previous first tracks on past New Order records, but it's still a strong number. It's a hushed rocker mainly due to the vocals being breathed into the mics. The following track "Weirdo" is another thing altogether. This gem is a pop masterpiece that captures everything great about a New Order rock classic: shimmering, trebled out guitars, interweaving high-end bass lines, and energetic drumming. The music is so good and catchy that Sumner doesn't even bother to sing on the second verse. Also, the build up during the outro is just musical gold. This is one of my favorite New Order songs of all time.

The rest of the A-Side is pretty strong (though "As It Is When It Was" is probably the weakest of the five songs), but the other remaining stand out is "Broken Promise". This is a groovy rocker that builds into a couple chaotic, chainsaw guitar solos. Sumner's desperate vocal performance is one of the best on the album, too. "Way of Life" rounds out the first side and it's a solid New Order pop number. New Order do a great little feint at the beginning; it initially sounds like the song is going to down darker Movement roads, but quickly veers off into upbeat pop.

The B-Side erupts with the now classic "Bizarre Love Triangle". What "Weirdo" does with "live" instruments, "Bizarre Love Triangle" achieves electronically. This is one of New Order's most singable songs and pretty much everything about it is perfect. This song would later be released as a single (7" and 12") and would undergo many remixes; all of which were extremely good.

"All Day Long" is more laid back, but extremely pleasant. The song features a great guitar solo by Sumner and it crescendos into a beautiful synth and bass ending. This is followed by the weakest track on the album, "Angel Dust". There are some elements that are perfected on "State of the Nation", the standalone single that was released at the same time as Brotherhood. The record ends with the quiet and melodic "Every Little Counts".

8 out of 10

State of the Nation/Shame of the Nation - September 1986

"State of the Nation" was released at the same time as Brotherhood, but the song was not included on the album. This song is another dance track with heavy rock elements. This is the third single collaboration with John Robie and it's the best of the three. I guess they kept refining the process as they went along. Still, this is a decent New Order single, not one of their best, but still quite good. Once again, the B-Side is just a remix of the A-Side.

7 out of 10