Remember in the ’70s and ’80s when prog rock and new wave bands would throw in a line or two sung through a vocoder? It was one of those little gimmicks that was supposed to signal the future of music, but for the most part ended up sounding kitschy and dated. Now imagine an entire album “sung” in that mechanical… can you even call it a voice? Anyway, that album is the Robotic Subwaymen’s debut 2083, which is arguably the first record to come out of the Crescent City performed entirely by robots. That’s right, robots. The black-clad Subwaymen’s frontman is a white android that goes by the name CIVO (Cyborg Incorporates a Vocal Organization), and the lyrics mostly deal with concerns of the mechanical heart. The mastermind behind this project, Gregg Tauriac, is a man obsessed with Japan, Kraftwerk, robotics, and the film Lost In Translation. (Two of the tracks, “Lost In Translation” and “Charlotte,” are directly based on the film, and Tauriac thanks director Sofia Coppola for inspiring him to “form” the Subwaymen.) And only a man so obsessed could produce an album so unique, a synth-pop concept record for the 21st-century. The best tracks here are the jumpy “She’s Part Bionic” and the slow indie rock-like “Everybody Knows,” which would be a hit if sung by humans. Granted, the robo-vocals can be an acquired taste, and I’m not sure that it carries the album for all of its 65 minutes. But at its best, 2083 is as much escapist fun as watching Plan 9 From Outer Space or a Morgus episode.