Laibach

The Laibach DVD in its own way hearkens back to the early years of music video DVDs, in so much that it isn't an excursion packed to the gills with extras or fancy special features. This disc delivers only what the back cover promises, a selection of the 13 "best" videos spanning nearly two decades, and A Film About WAT (directed by _a_o Podgor_ek), which in documentary style describes the cultural history that influenced the founding of Laibach and summarises their career virtually up to the present. The best part of video compilations that span such a period of time is the opportunity they afford the audience to watch the growth and transformation of a band as well as the technology itself. This works especially well for Laibach, whose political nature lends itself to a visual medium. Sometimes taking the role of short film and sometimes leaning towards the more expected "music video" avenues, there is no lack of visual variety in the 13 cuts. The documentary effectively rounds out the DVD by bringing further insight into the band (their mission and their movement). Though much of the narration for the doc is delivered in a thick European accent, the filmmaker was clever enough to include subtitles and A Film About WAT comes off as both necessarily gritty and genuine. If anything, this serves to cement their image more bluntly than a CD alone could and North American fans would well to get this disc before it disappears. (Mute, www.mute.com)