🔗 Share this article DJ Moopie's Charmingly Moody Curated Collections along with The Week's Top Fresh Releases Based in Melbourne Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, Antipodean jangle-pop, atmospheric pop Newest project 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, is renowned for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that often traverse from gelid ambient music to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that massively punches above its weight when it comes to releasing charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and the prolific underground figure Simon Fisher Turner. The label's 2017 release was I Won’t Have to Think About You, a collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which doubles as a neatly drawn guide to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere 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, contribute Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), venture into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, whereas Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, channel equal parts the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane. In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be well-loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt. This Week’s Best New Tracks Flea – A Plea A rare solo track from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and a magnificently realised one: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz where Flea pleads for harmony and affection. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!” Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this stunning Seyfried duet included in the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee. Jana Horn – All in Bet Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, in which minimal hints of piano and woodwind shade her exhausted letdown. Umor Rex – Lo Animal One might readily envision this cellist from Madrid's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, thanks to its pounding percussion, piercing industrial noises, haunting choral passages and cataclysmic majesty. Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist joins forces with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol to deliver pounding ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing yet the melody approaches dream-pop. Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, British MC Jawnino rides diverse, ethereal rap production by Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino sharp and fully engaged as he observes the drug trade. Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper Produced by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe chugs along entirely at its own pace, from runaway truck to the musician from Austin's woozy reflection about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.