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Based in Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is celebrated for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that effortlessly shift between gelid ambient music to driving drum and bass plus other genres. He also runs A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to issuing charmingly moody experimental pop music, featuring a diverse roster including London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, 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 compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which also functions as a succinct overview to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts currently working. Sydney band Daily Toll, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as one of the year’s underrated gems, offer Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. The duo Chateau, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, channel equal parts moody vocalists Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, 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. It stands as a humble compilation that’s almost certain to become a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt.

The Top New Releases This Week

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 with Flea calling for harmony and affection. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home the Best Original Song award in 2026 thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried included in his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
This songwriter from Texas paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, in which minimal hints of piano and flute tinge her fatigued disillusionment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture this Madrid-based cellist’s gothic masterpiece with industrial shades on the soundtrack to Dune, with its thundering drums, metallic shrieks, eerie chorals and apocalyptic grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer collaborates with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo to deliver pounding ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino flows over varied cloud-rap beats from Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino focused and in the zone while he examines the landscape of drug dealing.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, shifting from a runaway vehicle to the Austin musician’s dazed reverie about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.