🔗 Share this article

From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, Mess Esque
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is renowned for deeply absorbing musical journeys that often traverse from icy, atmospheric ambience to churning drum'n'bass plus other genres. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to putting out endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, dubby Hobart duo 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. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which doubles as a carefully curated roadmap to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts currently working. Sydney band Daily Toll, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, the pair, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It stands as a humble compilation that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited for aficionados of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the RHCP bass player, and it is superbly executed: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz with Flea calling for peace and love. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home best original song in 2026 for this stunning Seyfried duet included in the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas captures the full spectrum of a sigh on this richly despondent return, in which minimal hints of keys and wind instruments colour her weary disappointment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music on the soundtrack to Dune, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, eerie chorals and apocalyptic grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist collaborates with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo to deliver pounding ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering although the tune is nearly dream-pop in nature.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, UK rapper Jawnino rolls over varied cloud-rap beats by Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino alert and locked in as he surveys the world of narcotics.

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-based artist's woozy reflection about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.