A fata morgana is the curious optical illusion that occurs when one looks ahead into the horizon and sees strange objects in the distance. Historically mistaken for boats or islands, legend has it that these mirages were the beckoning sorcery of Morgan le Fay, luring sailors to an alternate realm, never to be seen again.

Staring out into the Mediterranean Sea is Barcelona synthpop act Fatamorgana. Comprised of Patrycja Proniewska and Louis Harding from respective punk bands Sect and The Shitty Life, the duo have jumped from anarcho-hardcore to shimmering synthwave that wavers on the skyline between machine and mythos, reality and phantasm. Following from 2019’s Terra Alta, Fatamorgana’s sophomore album Ahora Aquí, Todavía No (Spanish for “Now Here, Not Yet”) scoops up the cultural detritus that washes ashore their historic coastal city from lands afar; relics from Arthurian Legend, wabi-sabi impermanence, and Gaelic wind from the Outer Hebrides all provide furtive inspiration for a minimal-synth record which touches the arcane and hypnagogic over the genre’s distinctive coldwave frigidity.

‘All The People’ encapsulates Fatamorgana’s crystalline electronics beautifully, a rippling and trancelike bassline billows against an acutely catchy whistling synthesizer that reaches soaring levels of introspective drama in an entirely austere, unfussy form, given a spike of chill from Proniewska’s cooly laconic vocals. LP opener ‘El Uróboro’ explores its Gnostic namesake symbolism with peculiarly programmed rhythms and muffled sequencers that infuse pop with mystical esotericism, recalling the intricate arrangements of French minimal wave pioneers Moderne, while ‘Primavera’ reaches exquisite heights of anthemic radiance, a pean to Botticelli awash with dreamy keys and hypnotic arpeggios.

There’s plenty of dance on Ahora Aquí, Todavía No, albeit deceptively hallucinatory. ‘El Rincón del Ojo‘ has warped techno alloyed to its wanton stomp like a Rue Oberkampf cut, while ‘El Planeta Enfermo’ resurrects their post-punk foundations with a crunchy detour into cavernous darkwave, the coarse and fractured bassline teetering on the edge of industrial abrasion. Their most euphoric and unabashed synthpop moment is the sublime ‘The Next Level’ a glittering pop number that sits alongside A Broken Frame era Depeche More, or even Erasure at their most glossy.

After having crafted a unique voice on what can be an overcrowded post-punk synth scene on debut Terra Alta, Ahora Aquí, Todavía No sees Fatamorgana peer deeper into the horizon and conjure electronic pop that balances with even greater delicacy dazzling, forward-thinking new wave with explorations into the mysterious ether where ancient ships obscure and dissipate to other worlds.