Add to playlist: DJ Moopie’s charmingly moody experimental sets and the best new tracks of the week | music

from Melbourne
Recommended if you like Compilation of C86, AU/NZ jangle-pop, and Mess Esque
the next Go back to sleep now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, also known as Matthew Xue, is known for his exciting, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from groovy ambient music to churning drums and beyond. He also runs A Colorful Storm – a brilliant indie label that excels greatly when it comes to releasing charming, moody experimental pop, from artists as disparate as London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, Hobart duo Truth, and renowned polymath Simon Fisher-Turner.

In 2017, the label released I Won’t Have to Think About You, a collection of C86’s brilliant indie pop. Earlier this year, she released Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record that also serves as a meticulously drawn guide to some of the best pop groups currently working. Sydney band Daily Tool, whose 2025 debut “A Shallow Happening” is one of the year’s underrated gems, contributed “Time,” a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chatto, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex MacFarlane (Stevens, Twerps), push into rhythmic, psychedelic pop on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares, one of Melbourne’s best new bands, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Earthheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from San Francisco indie bands like the Reds, Pinks and the Purples; Sydney minimalist group The Lewers; and sunny folk-pop from Dutch duo Hobknobs. It is an unassuming collection that is almost certain to become much loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of all things subtle and deeply felt. Shad D’Souza

The best new songs of the week

Flea – call
A rare solo track from Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and a wonderfully realized piece: propulsive yet exploratory soul jazz with Flea calling for peace and love. “I’m not corny – this shit is real!” BPT

Danielle Bloomberg and Amanda Seyfried – sun-kissed
After winning the Oscar for Best Original Score this year, you can imagine Blumberg winning Best Original Song in 2026 for this stunning Seyfried duet taken from the soundtrack to The Covenant of Ann Lee. BPT

Jana Horne – All In Betting
The Texas songwriter paints with all shades of sighs this desperate return, the slightest touches of piano and woodwinds coloring her weary disillusionment. L.S

Omar Rex – If the animal
You could easily imagine the Madrid-based cellist’s gothic, industrial-tinged score on the Dune soundtrack, with its thundering drums, metallic shrieks, eerie chorus, and end-times grandeur. L.S

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Innovative Austrian producer and singer Zora Jones teams up with UK Bristolian bass producer DJ Polo for some raucous ghetto music: the drums may beat the beat but the melody is almost pop. BPT

Jawnino and the Surf Gang – Hit again
On his new mixtape Amnesia, British rapper Jawnino rolls over Surf Gang’s diverse cloud-rap beats, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino being alert and closed off as he surveys the drug trade. BPT

Annabelle Cresslegs – heavy sleeper
Produced by Ty Segal, this garage number moves entirely at its own pace, from the runaway truck to the Austin musician’s dizzying daydreams about how the moon “brings the soul back into me.” L.S

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