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

Better in Blak
Studio album by
Thelma Plum
Released12 July 2019 (2019-07-12)
Length36:58
LabelWarner Music Australia
Producer
Thelma Plum chronology
Monsters
(2014) 		Better in Blak
(2019) 		Meanjin
(2022)
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
  4. "Homecoming Queen"
    Released: 12 July 2019

Better in Blak is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Thelma Plum, released on 12 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

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Newcastle Herald[1]

Better in Blak received critical acclaim.[2]

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."[3]

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".[4] He also wrote that Better in Blak "embodies the different sides of her artistry in an honest and endearing way."[4]

Track listing

[edit]
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
Total length:36:58
Better in Blak anniversary edition track listing
No.TitleLength
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
Total length:56:18

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]
Weekly chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 4

Year-end charts

[edit]
2019 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2019) Position
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[6] 46
2020 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak
Chart (2020) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 87

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications and sales for Better in Blak
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[8] Gold 35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats for Better in Blak
Region Date Format Edition Label Catalogue Ref
Various 12 July 2019
Standard Warner Music Australia 5419704880 [9][10][11]
6 November 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Anniversary Edition Not applicable [12]
Australia 12 November 2020 LP 5419708255 [13]

Awards and nominations

[edit]

ARIA Music Awards

[edit]
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [14][15]
Best Cover Art[a] Won
Best Female Artist Nominated
Best Pop Release
Breakthrough Artist

Australian Music Prize

[edit]
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [16]

J Awards

[edit]
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Australian Album of the Year Nominated [17]

National Indigenous Music Awards

[edit]
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [18][19]

Queensland Music Awards

[edit]
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2020 Better in Blak Album of the Year Won [20]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Plum was nominated for Best Cover Art for Emilie Pfitzner's artwork design.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Leeson, Josh (16 June 2019). "Review: Better in Blak – Thelma Plum – 4 stars". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. ^ Mack, Emmy (4 March 2020). "Thelma Plum & the Jungle Giants lead 2020 Queensland Music Awards winners". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Bleach, Thomas (11 July 2019). "Album Review: Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Thomas Bleach. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Australian Artist (ARIA) End of Year Albums Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  7. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  8. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Better in Blak". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Better in Blak (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Better in Blak by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition LP)". JB Hi-Fi. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  14. ^ "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  15. ^ a b "ARIA Awards: 2019 Fine Arts & Artisan Winners Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  16. ^ Boulton, Martin (6 March 2020). "AMP winner Sampa The Great creates history". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  17. ^ "J Awards: 2019". Triple J. 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  18. ^ "National Indigenous Music Awards unveils 2019 Nominations". National Indigenous Music Awards. July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Record Breaking Crowd for the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards!". National Indigenous Music Awards. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Past Winners 2020". Queensland Music Awards. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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