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Hailing from Melbourne
Perfect for fans of the C86 compilation, AU/NZ 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 icy, atmospheric ambience to driving drum and bass and much more. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to issuing quirky and introspective pop experiments, with contributors ranging from percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, 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. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which doubles as a succinct overview to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts active today. 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. The duo Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), explore rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

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