021: Down Tempo | 18 – 24 May
New releases from aja monet and Bleachers, a heartstring-pulling Jensen McRae discovery via Off Campus, and four shows worth watching from the couch
Between new client work and moderating some marking, it was already a full week before I got sick on the weekend.
I managed some quality friend time first — lunch and a hike at the Mount Gravatt lookout with Cat on Wednesday, then Saturday morning with Adele at the quarry, followed by lunch and Asian grocery shopping, right up until I faded. The rest of the weekend was rest, which meant catching up on TV series.
Low on new information this week, so it's music and TV only, team.
♫ MUSIC
Two of my pre-orders were released this week. The first is:
aja monet — the color of rain
From her Bandcamp bio:
Surrealist Blues Poet in the business of goosebumps and heart-gut-telling truths.
The second pre-order is New Jersey’s Bleachers
Bleachers — everyone for ten minutes
Some newly released singles:
Blondshell — Heart Has To Work So Hard
Purchase on Bandcamp:
Gracie Abrams — Hit the Wall
Jorja Smith — What’s Done Is Done
Olivia Rodrigo — the cure
Loving the visuals in the new Olivia releases.
And a song from 2025 I heard in the closing of episode 7 of Off Campus:
Jensen McRae — Massachusetts
Definitely one that pulls at the heartstrings.
At least I’m treading water and not about to drown.
I’m not trying to find you, babe, you’re just around.
Everything reminds me of you even now…
As long as I live, I’ll remember the names
of your favorite beers and your video games.
The fire in my gut that I’ve chased ever since, yeah, you set the bar,
You’re gonna stick.
From her 2025 album I Don’t Know How But They Found Me:
The Off Campus music is great too: Listen on YouTube Music
📺 TV SERIES
Betrayal
4 episodes | ITV+ & 🏴☠
Short and sharp — an MI5 agent trying to prove his instincts are still correct.
The Girlfriend
6 episodes | Prime Video & 🏴☠
I’ve had this downloaded for a while and finally got to it while I was sick. Slow start, but I’m enjoying it at the halfway point.
The Hardacres S2
6 episodes | Channel 5 & 🏴☠
The first two episodes of Series 2 are out now — a story of a working-class family moving up in society, and the old-money families they annoy along the way. Not a great period drama, but still good fun.
Here’s the Series 1 trailer.
Off Campus
8 episodes | Prime & 🏴☠
Based on a book, this is a light and fun college-set romantic drama. I was totally immersed in their world. What I loved most was the nuanced male characters — not stereotypes, but guys with real depth. Male characters written by a female author… maybe that’s why.
I'm grateful for friends, new clients, and the body's capacity to rest when it needs to.