Say hello to my first obsession of 2020: "King of Thumbs," a selection from Reality Rounds, a new album by the composer and vocalist Alex Dowling. I find this realization of a cybernetic vocal consort – created by four singers individually equipped with AutoTune and other effects, and synthesizer accompaniment – completely mesmerizing.

In this specific cut, for instance, I listen again and again just to hear the piquant frisson in the note that Emma O'Halloran sings/produces at 0:37, which makes me shiver every time I hear it. The entire album is flush with moments like that.

Apart from Dowling and O'Halloran – who both were trained in Princeton University's graduate composition program, and who recently announced their engagement (congratulations!) – the group includes two more singing composers, Chris Douthitt and Annika Socolofsky, plus Pascal Le Boeuf on the keyboard. The performances are beautiful, and the production does them justice.

<a href="http://alexdowling.bandcamp.com/album/reality-rounds&quot; data-mce-href="http://alexdowling.bandcamp.com/album/reality-rounds">Reality Rounds by Alex Dowling</a>

The disc arrives January 31 on the Carrier label, and you can pre-order it now on Bandcamp. To further whet your appetite, you can find three video clips of live performances by varying iterations of this group on YouTube: here, here, and here.