🔗 Share this article

Based in Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy the C86 indie pop sound, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next Going Back to Sleep out now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to issuing charmingly moody experimental pop music, 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.

Back in 2017, the imprint put out I Won’t Have to Think About You, an assortment of charming guitar-pop reminiscent of the C86 era. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which also functions as a succinct overview to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere making music now. Sydney band Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, the pair, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, and the band Who Cares?, channel equal parts moody vocalists Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s almost certain to become deeply cherished and often cited for aficionados of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

The Top New Releases This Week

Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the RHCP bass player, and it is superbly executed: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul as Flea advocates for tranquility and compassion. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, you can imagine Blumberg winning the Best Original Song award in 2026 thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried taken from his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
This songwriter from Texas captures the full spectrum of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, where the slightest touches of keys and wind instruments tinge her fatigued disillusionment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music playing over scenes in Dune, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, haunting choral passages 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 percussion is overpowering yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, British MC Jawnino flows over varied cloud-rap beats from Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino alert and locked in as he observes the landscape of drug dealing.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed by Ty Segall, this garagey number chugs along entirely at its own pace, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the musician from Austin's hazy daydream about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.