Critic's Review
Heather Phares, All Music Guide
Björk's video retrospective Volumen gathers 14 of her groundbreaking clips, ranging from "Play Dead," from the film Young Americans, to videos for her 1997 album Homogenic. From Sophie Muller and Stephane Sednaoui's dreamlike, quirky videos for "Venus As a Boy," "Big Time Sensuality," and "Possibly Maybe" to striking artistic and technical achievements like Paul White's "Hunter," which morphs Björk into a cyber-polar bear, the collection presents virtually every side of her abundant creativity. Spumco's silly and suggestive animated clip for "I Miss You" and Spike Jonze's exuberant mini-musical for "It's Oh So Quiet" are also highlights of a collection that is virtually all highlights, but Björk's most successful and representative video collaborations are with Michel Gondry. Interestingly, they're also the most diverse, spanning surreal fairytales like "Human Behaviour" and "Army of Me" to more lyrical pieces like the dreamy, black-and-white "Isobel"; the distinctly Icelandic-looking love letter to Björk's homeland, "Joga"; and the striking, circular "Bachelorette." Simply put, Volumen is a thrillingly creative collection of sound and music from one of the '90s best, most distinctive artists. Though it's unfortunate that two of Björk's best videos -- "All Is Full of Love" and "Alarm Call" -- are missing from Volumen, and the DVD lacks extras such as Electronic Press Kits or a discography (though it does include weblinks), it's still an impressive body of work that devoted Björk fans should own.
