applied communications’ Retro Synth Pop Single “return of jafar” is a Song Suggesting We Re-Examine What We Think Are Our Dreams

applied communications, photo courtesy the artist

There is something surreal and relatable about applied communications in the video for “return of jafar.” It looks like something made on an iMac in the 90s, appropriate given the cinematic reference of the title with its own resonances for the themes of the song as well. Throughout the song Max Wood relates what sounds like the inversion of the usual nostalgia of youth like someone who is deeply skeptical of the concept in the face of lived reality. But he whimsically delivers lines that are dryly amusing yet insightful like a music resonant with the sensibilities of a Daniel Clowes comic. The line “I have this vision I can’t see/It’s always driving me/To something I don’t believe” and the bit about the “jazz interlude” reveals a level of sardonic wit that isn’t heard in much music. With the song ending with the repeated line “return of jafar” fits the rhythm of what we’ve been hearing but also a sly nod to hey this thing you think you’ve always wanted out of life, is it really what it’s cracked up to be or do you maybe take what you think your aspirations might be a little less to heart and be willing to do things differently. Nothing about the song is too on the nose and that’s part of the appeal behind it sounding like a bizarre alternative soundtrack to a lost computer and New Age self-help informercial. Watch the video for “return of jafar” on YouTube and follow applied communications at the links below. The new album applied communications bites the big one released September 25, 2026 via Rare Noodles in collaboration with Bar/None Records.