Ireland-by-way-of-Brooklyn composer Alex Dowling’s forthcoming release Reality Rounds promises an esoteric, experimental affair, an LP that seeks to incorporate faith and futurism into a disconcerting effort. Lead single “King of Thumbs” sounds off as a distress signal from a lonely A.I., replete with autotuned vox, tactile accents, and spacey analogue synths. Dowling conceived Rounds as a hypothetical “future ritual of Dataism, a new religion that worships the eternal flow of data,” employing themes not unfamiliar to fans of Frank Herbert and Phillip K. Dick in cinematic fashion; his music dips deep into the uncanny valley, finding a place where the human voice and computer-produced tones intersect, exacerbating this uncomfortability to deliver visceral, confrontational electronic music. It’s a bold take on the Singularity, a vision that will be expanded upon when the record drops January 31st; stream “King of Thumbs” below, and catch Alex Dowling at Shapeshifter on January 29th.—Photo by Emma O’Halloran
