🔗 Share this article

Based in Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy classic jangle-pop compilations, AU/NZ jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, has built a reputation for deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to driving drum and bass and much more. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to issuing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

The label's 2017 release was I Won’t Have to Think About You, a compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. This year saw the release of Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which also functions as a carefully curated roadmap to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts currently working. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is an overlooked treasure of the year, present Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, the pair, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), explore percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, draw equally from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s almost certain to become deeply cherished and often cited among connoisseurs of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and a magnificently realised one: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul where Flea pleads for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, one could envision Blumberg earning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this breathtaking duet with Seyfried taken from his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, in which minimal hints of piano and flute colour her weary disappointment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music on the soundtrack to Dune, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, eerie chorals and apocalyptic grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer teams up with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo for some slamming ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat but the melody is almost dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino rides an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals by Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino sharp and fully engaged while he examines the world of narcotics.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, shifting from a runaway vehicle to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.