''Better in Blak'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Australian singer-songwriter

Thelma Plum Thelma Amelina Plumbe (born 21 December 1994), known professionally as Thelma Plum, is an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist and musician from Delungra, New South Wales. Her father is renowned lore-man Paul Winanga-li Gii Spear ...

, released on 7 July 2019 through

Warner Music Australia Warner Music Australia Pty Limited (WMA) is the Australian division of the Warner Music Group. WMA also distributes in New Zealand. History In 1969, Warner Bros. Records branched out and WEA was born. The first country in which it was estab ...

. ''Better in Blak'' achieved commercial success, peaking at number 4 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, 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

''Better in Blak'' received critical acclaim. Josh Leeson of ''

The Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

'' 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." Al Newstead from

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

wrote that ''Better in Blak'' is "an album of healing, ndtransforming the pain and sadness of a dark few years into a courageous, self-assured debut album." Thomas Bleach described the album as "a collection of hard-hitting and thought invoking moments", and "one of the most impressive debuts of the year". He also wrote that ''Better in Blak'' "embodies the different sides of her artistry in an honest and endearing way."

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

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Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

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Australian Music Prize

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J Awards

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National Indigenous Music Awards

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Queensland Music Awards

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Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

Notes

{{Authority control 2019 debut albums Thelma Plum albums ARIA Award winners Warner Music Australasia albums