Swamp Dogg should be the only person allowed to use Auto-Tune

Southern soul crooner Swamp Dogg has shown me what it would sound like if robots could sing love songs. Not literally, but his experiment with Auto-Tuning on his latest single debuting today “Answer Me, My Love” — a cover of the Nat King Cole classic — is what I imagine Terminator bots would sound like if they were musically inclined and felt love.

All of my machina projections aside though, "Answer Me" is a wondrous take at past and present colliding together. There is something deeply entrancing about hearing Swamp’s voice slowly become more mechanical through the course of the track; it is disconcerting but also surprisingly tender.

"'Answer Me, My Love' is what we call a 'money record' and since I need money, I recorded it," Swamp wrote frankly over email. "You can't go wrong with a Nat King Cole hit! He never recorded a bad song and always got hits. I need to pay some bills."

The track is off Swamp's upcoming LP, Love, Loss, and Autotune, set to drop September 7. Built around Swamp's experiments with digital vocal effects, it will feature production work from Poliça's Ryan Olson and Justin Vernon. For now, please help Swamp pay his bills by streaming "Answer Me, My Love" above.