LISTEN: applied communications Crafts Experimental Pop Excellence On Lively “cowboy bebop & eric’s trip” (opens in new tab)

Applied Communications is the musical alias of Max Wood. As a teenager, Wood 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, Wood built a small, loyal audience while alienating larger crowds with glitchy, intense, mostly electronic pop songs. After nearly two decades away from music, Wood’s work...