🔗 Share this article

Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, AU/NZ jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, has built a reputation for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that often traverse from gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and much more. He also runs A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to issuing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, with contributors ranging from London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and esteemed multi-disciplinary artist Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released I Won’t Have to Think About You, an assortment of charming guitar-pop reminiscent of the C86 era. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a spiritual follow-up to that compilation which simultaneously serves as a carefully curated roadmap 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 one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. The duo Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, whereas Who Cares?, draw equally from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by 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. It stands as a humble compilation that’s almost certain to become deeply cherished and often cited among connoisseurs of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

Fresh Tracks of the Week

Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, and it is superbly executed: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz with Flea calling for tranquility and compassion. “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, one could envision Blumberg earning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this breathtaking duet with Seyfried featured on the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind tinge her fatigued disillusionment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture this Madrid-based cellist’s industrial-tinged gothic opus playing over scenes in Dune, with its thundering drums, screeching metallic sounds, eerie chorals and apocalyptic grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist teams up with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol to deliver pounding ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing but the melody is almost dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino rides diverse, ethereal rap production 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
Helmed by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track moves forward stubbornly on its own schedule, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's hazy daydream about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.