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Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next Going Back to Sleep out now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is celebrated for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that can run the gamut from icy, atmospheric ambience to driving drum and bass plus other genres. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to releasing charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, 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 neatly drawn guide to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts 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, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. The duo Chateau, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, 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 the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s almost certain to become well-loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, and it is superbly executed: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul as Flea advocates for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, one could envision Blumberg earning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this stunning Seyfried duet taken from the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter depicts all the nuances of melancholy in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music on the soundtrack to Dune, with its thundering drums, piercing industrial noises, haunting choral passages and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer collaborates with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo on a track of hard-hitting 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 flows over varied cloud-rap beats by Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he observes the landscape of drug dealing.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track moves forward stubbornly on its own schedule, shifting from a runaway vehicle to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.