🔗 Share this article DJ Moopie's Charmingly Moody Curated Collections and The Week's Top Fresh Releases From Melbourne Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation Newest project Going Back to Sleep out now Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is renowned for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that often traverse from chilled-out soundscapes to pulsating breakbeats and much more. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to issuing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, from artists as disparate as London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner. The label's 2017 release was I Won’t Have to Think About You, an assortment of charming guitar-pop reminiscent of the C86 era. This year saw the release of Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which also functions as a neatly drawn guide to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere making music now. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being one of the year’s underrated gems, present Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and the band Who Cares?, blend influences from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane. Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited for aficionados of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant. The Top New Releases This Week Flea – A Plea A seldom-seen individual effort by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, and a magnificently realised one: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul with Flea calling for harmony and affection. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!” Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, you can imagine Blumberg winning 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, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind colour her weary disappointment. Umor Rex – Lo Animal One might readily envision the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music featured in a Dune soundtrack, with its thundering drums, metallic shrieks, haunting choral passages and cataclysmic majesty. Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up The creative Austrian producer and singer joins forces with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol for some slamming ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering although the tune is nearly dream-pop in nature. Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino rides an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals by Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino alert and locked in as he surveys the drug trade. Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper Helmed by Ty Segall, this garagey number chugs along entirely at its own pace, from runaway truck to the Austin-based artist's hazy daydream about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.