Better in Blak

Last updated

Better in Blak
Better in Blak by Thelma Plum.png
Studio album by
Thelma Plum
Released12 July 2019 (2019-07-12)
Length36:58
Label Warner 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.

Contents

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 Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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

Better in Blak track listing
No.TitleWriter(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)
  • 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

Weekly charts

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

Year-end charts

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

Certifications and sales for Better in Blak
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [8] Gold35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Better in Blak
RegionDateFormatEditionLabelCatalogueRef
Various12 July 2019Standard Warner Music Australia 5419704880 [9] [10] [11]
6 November 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
Anniversary EditionNot applicable [12]
Australia12 November 2020LP5419708255 [13]

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2019 Better in Blak Album of the Year Nominated [14] [15]
Best Cover Art [lower-alpha 1] Won
Best Female Artist Nominated
Best Pop Release
Breakthrough Artist

Australian Music Prize

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2019 Better in BlakAlbum of the YearNominated [16]

J Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2019 Better in BlakAustralian Album of the YearNominated [17]

National Indigenous Music Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2019 Better in BlakAlbum of the YearNominated [18] [19]

Queensland Music Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2020 Better in BlakAlbum of the YearWon [20]

Notes

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

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References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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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