NSK-pop: Laibach gig review

WILL STONE participates and enjoys an evening that treats pop as another uniform to wear

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“WELCOME to the concert,” the words from a computer-generated synthetic voice projected at the back of the stage tell us. “This concert simulates authority, discipline and mass behaviour. Participation is mandatory. Enjoyment is optional.”

So begins a Laibach show, whose concerts have as much in common with a piece of theatre as they do with a gig.

Any detractors of the NSK art collective’s latest pop-culture inspired album Musick might swallow their criticism when faced with it being brought so stylishly to the stage that it could pass for a Eurovision final directed by a totalitarian regime.

Yet for all its pop sensibilities, much of Musick’s subject matter is, paradoxically, about as dark as it comes.

Allgorhythm is the night’s centrepiece, exposing the grotesqueness of our social media addiction, which is cleverly referenced on Musick’s syringe-injecting album cover.

Dancers Patricija Crnkovic and Tjasa Bucik, who have more than few scene-stealing moments and head-turning costume changes, lead the crowd into a choreographed K-pop-style Allgorhythm dance routine.

The old goths in the crowd aren’t quite sure how seriously to take it, clearly forgetting the “participation is mandatory” bit.

Fluid Emancipation, another standout moment with its vocoders and self-help mantras, is a catchy hyperpop classic that AG Cook would be proud of. Its “be in the moment” and “be yourself” lyrics providing a rare verbal warm hug from stoic singer Milan Fras, splendidly adorned in his trademark regalia.

Others act as cautionary tales. Love Machine, a rework of Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine, highlights how the same algorithmic machine that wires us for pleasure is also weaponised into tools of control and division. The “love machine” chorus being transposed at the end by the lyrical punchline “war machine.”

Keep It Reel nods to the hyperreal world of social media video reels, while Yes Maybe No makes full use of multimedia in exploring the grey areas of consent as one dancer films the other on a phone with the live content projected onto the back screen. Fras’s guttural growl cuts against the poppy chorus of Yes Maybe No while complementing its eerie string motif.

Irony is as central to a Laibach show as the uniforms. The dancers grab somewhat willing members of the audience to dance onstage for Singularity, with Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik as its chorus, while earlier, archival footage showed hysterical young pop fans interviewed outside venues as if they’d just seen Laibach.

Purists also get to indulge in a 15-minute interval medley, officially dubbed Laibach: The Hit Parade, which features classics Tanz mit Laibach and The Whistleblowers.

Musick is a risk for a band with Laibach’s reputation, but they pull it off by treating pop as another uniform to wear. Another head on the hydra.

Laibach tour UK venues until October 2. For details see: laibach.org

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