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From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next The compilation 'Going Back to Sleep' is currently released

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to releasing quirky and introspective pop experiments, featuring a diverse roster including the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

Back in 2017, the imprint put out I Won’t Have to Think About You, a compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a spiritual follow-up to that compilation which doubles as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups active today. Sydney band Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, which is brilliantly accomplished: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz with Flea calling for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, you can imagine Blumberg winning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried taken from the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
This songwriter from Texas depicts all the nuances of melancholy in this opulently sad new song, in which minimal hints of keys and wind instruments tinge her fatigued disillusionment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture this Madrid-based cellist’s dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music featured in a Dune soundtrack, thanks to its pounding percussion, metallic shrieks, haunting choral passages and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist joins forces with Bristolian UK bass producer DJ Polo for some slamming ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, UK rapper Jawnino rides diverse, ethereal rap production by Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he surveys the world of narcotics.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this garagey number chugs along entirely at its own pace, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.