applied communications - bites the big one - bar/none

Applied Communications is the musical alias of Max Wood. As a teenager, Max created polarizing, experimental pop music. Pitchfork listed their 2005 album Uhhh Sort Of among the worst of the year, while PopMatters called it "hard to stomach, but even harder to turn away from." Performing in laundromats and laser tag arenas, Max built a small, loyal audience while alienating larger crowds with glitchy, intense, mostly electronic pop songs.

After nearly two decades away from music, Max's work found unexpected new life when a TikTok influencer sparked an internet archaeology project that pulled the Applied Communications discography back from the dead. Fans dug through archive.org and eBay, recovered the music, and launched a fan-site – drawing Max back into making music with two EPs: 2024's applied communications has a midlife crisis and 2025's greatest applied communications music.

Now, applied communications bites the big one is the first full-length Applied Communications album in over twenty years. It's 25 minutes of bouncy, beat-driven, sample-heavy noise pop with lyrics focused on excavating and recontextualizing childhood trauma and insecurities.

Lead single, “cowboy bebop & eric’s trip” – a whimsical anti-pop track with a booming chorus – drops May 27. The full LP lands September 25 via Bar/None Records.