Better in Blak

Better in Blak is the debut studio album by Australian singer/songwriter Thelma Plum. It was released in July 2019 and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Charts.

Better in Blak
Studio album by
Thelma Plum
Released12 July 2019 (2019-07-12)
LabelWarner
ProducerAlexander Burnett, David Kahne
Thelma Plum chronology
Monsters
(2014)		 Better in Blak
(2019)
Singles from Better in Blak
  1. "Clumsy Love"
    Released: 13 July 2018[1]
  2. "Not Angry Anymore"
    Released: 1 February 2019[2]
  3. "Better in Blak"
    Released: 26 April 2019[3]

In July 2019, Better in Blak was nominated for Album of the Year and the song "Better in Blak" was nominated for Film Clip of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards.[4][5] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019 she was nominated in six categories,[6] she won Best Cover Art for Emilie Pfitzner's work.[6][7]

At the J Awards of 2019, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[8]

In February 2020, the album was nominated for Australian Music Prize 2019.[9]

An anniversary edition was released in November 2020.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Newcastle Herald[10]

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."[10]

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."[11]

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".[12] He also wrote that Better in Blak "embodies the different sides of her artistry in an honest and endearing way."[12]

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
  • David 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 (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)notesLength
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"
Acoustic3:06
18."Better in Blak"
Piano version2:44

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 4

Year-end charts
Chart (2019) Position
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[14] 46
Chart (2020) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 87

Release history
Release details, including date and label
Region Date Format Edition Label Catalogue
Various 12 July 2019 CD,[16] LP,[17] digital download,[18] streaming Standard Warner Music Australia 5419704880
6 November 2020 digital download,[19] streaming Anniversary Edition
Australia 12 November 2020 LP[20] 5419708255

References
  1. "Clumsy Love – Single by Thelma Plum". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  2. "Not Angry Anymore – Single by Thelma Plum". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  3. "Better in Blak – Single by Thelma Plum". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. "National Indigenous Music Awards unveils 2019 Nominations". National Indigenous Music Awards. July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. "Record Breaking Crowd for the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards!". National Indigenous Music Awards. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  6. "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  7. "ARIA Awards: 2019 Fine Arts & Artisan Winners Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  8. "The J Award 2019". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. "AMP winner Sampa The Great creates history". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  10. Leeson, Josh (16 June 2019). "Review: Better in Blak – Thelma Plum – 4 stars". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. Newstead, Al (11 June 2019). "Better in Blak: Thelma Plum transforms trauma into triumph on her healing debut album". ABC. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. Bleach, Thomas (11 July 2019). "Album Review: Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Thomas Bleach. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  13. "Australiancharts.com – Thelma Plum – Better in Blak". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  14. "Australian Artist (ARIA) End of Year Albums Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  15. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  16. "Better in Blak (CD) by Thelma Plum". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  17. "Better in Blak (Vinyl) by Thelma Plum". JB Hi-Fi. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  18. "Better in Blak by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  19. "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  20. "Better in Blak (Anniversary Edition LP) by Thelma Plum on Apple Music". JB HiFI. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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