Back in June we (re)introduced applied communications, the recording project of Max Wood which made waves in the early 00s with singular and chaotic records like africa baby, yeah yeah yeah and uhhh sort of, only to go on a two decade hiatus before its eventual return. Because, “in a turn of events the 2005-era Wood couldn’t have ever imagined,” as we wrote, “a TikTok-user-cum-internet-archaeologist unearthed the old releases and revived interest, essentially resuscitating applied communications twenty years after its apparent death.” Hence applied communications bites the big one, a brand new album set for release later in 2026 via Rare Noodles and Bar/None Records.
First single ‘cowboy bebop & eric’s trip’ gave a glimpse of this strange phoenix’s initial lift from the flames. What we labelled “a characteristically off-the-wall and hyperactive slice of electronic (anti-)pop that comes with all the playfulness and intensity of its predecessors,” the track found Wood attempting (and, according to him, failing) to write a jangly, guitar-centred pop song and instead end up with “a glitchy mess” of which he was nevertheless proud. applied communications made its name charting its own unique path, and this has not changed in the intervening years. Decades have passed, life has gone on, yet still this irrepressible creativity has persisted.
With the album on the horizon, applied communications has returned with new single ‘return of jafar’. Crafted from the trademark synths, the song sits in the sweet spot between unapologetic nostalgia and contemporary neurosis, its tone unafraid of self-deprecation yet so bright and bouncy that it seems to simultaneously conquer it. Comparisons for something so idiosyncratic are more or less a non-starter, but if you imagine the centre of a Venn diagram consisting of early Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, Emperor X and Dan Deacon, you might be getting halfway close to the vibe.
applied communications bites the big one will be released on the 25th September via Rare Noodles and Bar/None Records and you can pre-order it via the applied communications Bandcamp page.
