Better in Blak
Better in Blak | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 12 July 2019 | |||
Label | Warner Music Australia | |||
Producer | ||||
Thelma Plum chronology | ||||
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Singles from Better in Blak | ||||
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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[]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
The Newcastle Herald | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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[]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Clumsy Love" | Thelma Plum | 3:07 |
2. | "Don't Let a Good Girl Down" |
| 2:54 |
3. | "Love and War" (featuring David Le'aupepe) |
| 3:28 |
4. | "Not Angry Anymore" |
| 3:23 |
5. | "Homecoming Queen" |
| 3:51 |
6. | "Better in Blak" |
| 3:12 |
7. | "Woke Blokes" |
| 2:34 |
8. | "Nick Cave" |
| 2:45 |
9. | "Thulumaay Gii" |
| 2:50 |
10. | "Ugly" |
| 3:07 |
11. | "Do You Ever Get So Sad You Can't Breathe" | Plum | 2:17 |
12. | "Made for You" | 3:30 |
No. | Title | notes | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Body Do the Talking" | 2:26 | |
14. | "Clumsy Love" | St South remix | 2:48 |
15. | "Better in Blak" | Antony & Cleopatra remix | 3:48 |
16. | "Homecoming Queen" | Alice Ivy remix | 4:28 |
17. | "Clumsy Love" | Acoustic version | 3:06 |
18. | "Better in Blak" | Piano version | 2:44 |
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 4 |
Year-end charts[]
Chart (2019) | Position |
---|---|
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[12] | 46 |
Chart (2020) | Position |
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 87 |
Release history[]
Region | Date | Format | Edition | Label | Catalogue | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 12 July 2019 | Standard | Warner Music Australia | 5419704880 | [14][15][16] | |
6 November 2020 |
|
Anniversary Edition | Not applicable | [17] | ||
Australia | 12 November 2020 | LP | 5419708255 | [18] |
References[]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Bleach, Thomas (11 July 2019). "Album Review: Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Thomas Bleach. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Boulton, Martin (6 March 2020). "AMP winner Sampa The Great creates history". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "J Awards: 2019". Triple J. 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "National Indigenous Music Awards unveils 2019 Nominations". National Indigenous Music Awards. July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Record Breaking Crowd for the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards!". National Indigenous Music Awards. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Past Winners 2020". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Australian Artist (ARIA) End of Year Albums Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Better in Blak". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Better in Blak (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Better in Blak by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition LP)". JB Hi-Fi. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
Notes[]
- ^ Plum was nominated for Best Cover Art for Emilie Pfitzner's artwork design.[5]
- 2019 debut albums
- Thelma Plum albums
- ARIA Award winners
- Warner Music Australasia albums