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From Melbourne
Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, art-pop experimentation
Latest release Going Back to Sleep out now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is renowned for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to driving drum and bass and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to issuing charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

Back in 2017, the imprint put out I Won’t Have to Think About You, a collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which doubles as a neatly drawn guide to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts making music now. Sydney band Daily Toll, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and the band Who Cares?, draw equally from moody vocalists Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into well-loved and frequently referenced with fans of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, which is brilliantly accomplished: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz as Flea advocates for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home best original song in 2026 for this stunning Seyfried duet taken from the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas captures the full spectrum of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and flute colour her weary disappointment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision this cellist from Madrid's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music playing over scenes in Dune, with its thundering drums, piercing industrial noises, 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 to deliver pounding ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat but the melody is almost dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, British MC Jawnino flows over diverse, ethereal rap production from Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino focused and in the zone while he examines the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed by Ty Segall, this garagey number propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.