🔗 Share this article

From 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

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is renowned for deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from icy, atmospheric ambience to pulsating breakbeats plus other genres. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to putting out charmingly moody experimental pop music, with contributors ranging from 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 collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. This year saw the release of Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which doubles as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as one of the year’s underrated gems, present Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the pair, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), venture into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, blend influences from moody vocalists Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s destined to be well-loved and frequently referenced for aficionados of all things delicate and deeply felt.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
A seldom-seen individual effort from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, which is brilliantly accomplished: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul where Flea pleads for harmony and affection. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, you can imagine Blumberg winning the Best Original Song award 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
The Texan songwriter depicts all the nuances of melancholy on this richly despondent return, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine this cellist from Madrid's gothic masterpiece with industrial shades playing over scenes in Dune, thanks to its pounding percussion, screeching metallic sounds, haunting choral passages and end-times 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
Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino flows over an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals by Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he surveys the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the musician from Austin's woozy reflection about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.