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Based in Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Latest release 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is renowned for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that effortlessly shift between icy, atmospheric ambience to driving drum and bass and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to putting out quirky and introspective pop experiments, featuring a diverse roster including London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released 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 simultaneously serves as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. Sydney band Daily Toll, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the pair, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, channel equal parts the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into a beloved and regularly mentioned resource with fans of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

The Top New Releases This Week

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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 breathtaking duet with Seyfried taken from the soundtrack he composed for 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 shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture this cellist from Madrid's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, due to its seismic drum work, piercing industrial noises, eerie chorals and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
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Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino flows over an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals from Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he observes the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track moves forward stubbornly on its own schedule, from runaway truck to the Austin musician’s hazy daydream about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.