LP, Limited Edition, Blood Red VinylYoung – YO283LPE (2022) UK, US Hideous Bastard is the debut album from Oliver Sim—best known for his work as songwriter, bassist, and vocalist of The xx. Produced by bandmate Jamie xx, Hideous Bastard is the culmination of two years of writing and recording, inspired by Sim’s love of horror movies and his own life experience, unpacking themes of shame, fear, and masculinity. These themes are front and centre on new single “Hideous”. Enlisting the help of lifelong hero and “guardian angel” Jimmy Somerville on guest vocals, the single sets the scene for the forthcoming album and sees Sim speaking publicly for the first time that he’s been living with HIV since the age of seventeen. It debuts with a video by another personal hero, French director Yann Gonzalez, who has also collaborated with Sim on a forthcoming queer horror short film of the same name that premiered as part of the Semaine de la Critiqueat the Cannes Film Festival.
