St. Lucia - Fata Morgana: Dawn [Red]

Shimmering on the horizon like the mirage it is named after, Fata Morgana: Dawn finds St. Lucia in sun-drenched form, pressed on 180-gram red vinyl.

St. Lucia is the project of South African-born songwriter and producer Jean-Philip Grobler, who made his name in Brooklyn with glossy, eighties-tinged synth-pop built for open windows and long drives. Now based in Konstanz, Germany, he released his fifth album in 2025 as the first half of a pair, with Dawn arriving early in the year and its companion, Dusk, following at the end of it.

Dawn is the brighter of the two, full of daybreak optimism and widescreen hooks. "Falling Asleep" drifts along on a dreamy melody, "Pie in the Sky" chases big ambitions over buoyant synths, and "Campari Lips & Soda" sounds like a summer evening on a terrace, sweet and slightly tipsy. "Fear of Falling" closes the record and leaves the door open for the second chapter.

Grobler has always had a gift for making nostalgia feel fresh rather than recycled, and this record shows it off beautifully. Paired with Dusk on the shelf, it completes a lovely two-part story, but on its own it is a warm, glowing listen made for golden hour and the drive home afterwards.