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From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, Mess Esque
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is celebrated for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that effortlessly shift between icy, atmospheric ambience to pulsating breakbeats and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to putting out quirky and introspective pop experiments, from artists as disparate as percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and esteemed multi-disciplinary artist Simon Fisher Turner.

The label's 2017 release was I Won’t Have to Think About You, a collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which simultaneously serves as a succinct overview to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts making music now. The Sydney group Daily Toll, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as one of the year’s underrated gems, offer Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. The duo Chateau, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, whereas the band Who Cares?, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into a beloved and regularly mentioned resource for aficionados 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: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul with Flea calling for harmony and affection. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, one could envision Blumberg earning best original song in 2026 for this breathtaking duet with Seyfried taken from the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and flute tinge her fatigued disillusionment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision this cellist from Madrid's gothic masterpiece with industrial shades featured in a Dune soundtrack, thanks to its pounding percussion, piercing industrial noises, haunting choral passages and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist teams up with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol on a track of hard-hitting 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, British MC Jawnino rolls over varied cloud-rap beats by Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino focused and in the zone while he examines the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe chugs along entirely at its own pace, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.