Better in Blak

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For the title track, see Better in Blak (song).

Better in Blak
Better in Blak by Thelma Plum.png
Studio album by
Thelma Plum
Released12 July 2019 (2019-07-12)
LabelWarner Music Australia
Producer
Thelma Plum chronology
Monsters
(2014) 		Better in Blak
(2019)
Singles from Better in Blak
  1. "Clumsy Love"
    Released: 13 July 2018
  2. "Not Angry Anymore"
    Released: 1 February 2019
  3. "Better in Blak"
    Released: 26 April 2019

Better in Blak is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Thelma Plum, released on 7 July 2019 through Warner Music Australia.

Better in Blak achieved commercial success, peaking at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and winning two awards: Best Cover Art at the 2019 ARIA Music Awards and Album of the Year at the 2020 Queensland Music Awards.

An anniversary edition featuring previously unreleased tracks was released on 6 November 2020.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Newcastle Herald4/5 stars[1]

Josh Leeson of The Newcastle Herald wrote: "Emotional, and unapologetically honest, the Indigenous artist addresses racism, sexism and her broken heart", adding, "Plum's voice is placed at the forefront of the mix, allowing the sparse indie-folk instrumentation to provide casual direction."[1]

Al Newstead from Triple J wrote that Better in Blak is "an album of healing, [and] transforming the pain and sadness of a dark few years into a courageous, self-assured debut album."[2]

Thomas Bleach described the album as "a collection of hard-hitting and thought invoking [sic] moments", and "one of the most impressive debuts of the year".[3] He also wrote that Better in Blak "embodies the different sides of her artistry in an honest and endearing way."[3]

Awards and nominations[]

ARIA Music Awards[]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [4][5]
Best Cover Art[a] Won
Best Female Artist Nominated
Best Pop Release
Breakthrough Artist

Australian Music Prize[]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [6]

J Awards[]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Australian Album of the Year Nominated [7]

National Indigenous Music Awards[]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [8][9]

Queensland Music Awards[]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2020 Better in Blak Album of the Year Won [10]

Track listing[]

Better in Blak track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Clumsy Love"Thelma Plum3:07
2."Don't Let a Good Girl Down"
2:54
3."Love and War" (featuring David Le'aupepe)
  • Plum
  • Ross James
  • Le'aupepe
3:28
4."Not Angry Anymore"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
3:23
5."Homecoming Queen"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
3:51
6."Better in Blak"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
3:12
7."Woke Blokes"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
2:34
8."Nick Cave"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
2:45
9."Thulumaay Gii"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
2:50
10."Ugly"
  • Plum
  • Burnett
  • Horton
3:07
11."Do You Ever Get So Sad You Can't Breathe"Plum2:17
12."Made for You"
3:30
Better in Blak Anniversary Edition track listing
No.TitlenotesLength
13."Body Do the Talking" 2:26
14."Clumsy Love"St South remix2:48
15."Better in Blak"Antony & Cleopatra remix3:48
16."Homecoming Queen"Alice Ivy remix4:28
17."Clumsy Love"Acoustic version3:06
18."Better in Blak"Piano version2:44

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Weekly chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 4

Year-end charts[]

2019 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2019) Position
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[12] 46
2020 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2020) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 87

Release history[]

Release history and formats for Better in Blak
Region Date Format Edition Label Catalogue Ref
Various 12 July 2019
Standard Warner Music Australia 5419704880 [14][15][16]
6 November 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Anniversary Edition Not applicable [17]
Australia 12 November 2020 LP 5419708255 [18]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Leeson, Josh (16 June 2019). "Review: Better in Blak – Thelma Plum – 4 stars". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. ^ Newstead, Al (11 June 2019). "Better in Blak: Thelma Plum transforms trauma into triumph on her healing debut album". Triple J. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Bleach, Thomas (11 July 2019). "Album Review: Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Thomas Bleach. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ^ "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "ARIA Awards: 2019 Fine Arts & Artisan Winners Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  6. ^ Boulton, Martin (6 March 2020). "AMP winner Sampa The Great creates history". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "J Awards: 2019". Triple J. 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  8. ^ "National Indigenous Music Awards unveils 2019 Nominations". National Indigenous Music Awards. July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Record Breaking Crowd for the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards!". National Indigenous Music Awards. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Past Winners 2020". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Australian Artist (ARIA) End of Year Albums Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Better in Blak". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Better in Blak (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Better in Blak by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition LP)". JB Hi-Fi. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Plum was nominated for Best Cover Art for Emilie Pfitzner's artwork design.[5]
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