Hideous Bastard is the debut album bythe xx singerOliver Sim, released on 9 September 2022 byYoung. The album was produced by Sim's bandmateJamie xx. It was released with a short film directed byYann Gonzalez, which premiered at the2022 Cannes Film Festival. The album centers themes ofqueerness, including Sim's experiences withHIV.
Two singles were released prior to the album's announcement. "Romance with a Memory", Sim's debut solo single, was released on 10 March 2022 with a music video featuringdrag queensCharity Kase,HoSo Terra Toma, andGena Marvin.[1]
The second single, "Fruit", was released on 6 April with a music video directed byYann Gonzalez.[2] The music video depicts Sim as a guest on a talk show, singing the song in response to the host asking him "If you could meet yourself as a kid right now, what would you say?"[3] "Fruit" is the first song Sim ever released where he used male pronouns, a practice he and xx bandmateRomy intentionally avoided in their work with the group.[3] Sim and Gonzalez discussed their influences behind the video, includinginner child therapy,Steven Spielberg,Poltergeist,Dario Argento, and late-night television series likeEurotrash,Queer as Folk, andThe Graham Norton Show.[3] The wardrobe for the video was styled by Celestine Cooney, with inspiration taken fromDavid Byrne's "big suit" fromStop Making Sense.[3] An orchestral version of "Fruit" was released on 4 August 2023 for the soundtrack of the filmRed, White & Royal Blue.[4]
The album was announced on 23 May with a release date of 9 September byYoung.[5][6] In a press release, Sim revealed that he was diagnosedHIV positive when he was 17.[6] The third single, "Hideous", was released the same day, with lyrics addressing Sim's experience with HIV and a guest feature fromBronski Beat vocalist andHIV/AIDS activistJimmy Somerville.[5]
The fourth single, "GMT", was released on 7 July.[7] The song features a sample of the track "Smile Backing Vocals Montage" fromthe Beach Boys compilation albumThe Smile Sessions,[7][8] and was inspired by Sim and Jamie xx's trip toSydney andByron Bay, Australia.[7] Sim said the song was about "pining over a love back home, thousands of miles apart on different time zones", and was "also a love letter to London."[7] A Jamie xx remix of "GMT", with additional production byFloating Points, was released on 22 August,[9] and was nominated for Best Independent Remix at the2023 AIM Independent Music Awards.[10] The fifth single, "Run the Credits", was released on 8 September, and sees Sim singing about identifying with movie villains such asPatrick Bateman andBuffalo Bill andfinal girls from horror films.[11]
On 11 August, Sim released the trailer for his short filmHideous.[12] The short, directed by Yann Gonzalez, is a three-parthorrormusical about a young queer boy living with HIV.[12] It includes footage from the "Hideous" video, and its premise of Sim as the guest on a talk show.[12] Sim stars in the film which also features Jamie xx as the Sound Guy, Jimmy Somerville as the Guardian Angel, and drag queenBimini as the Queen of Doom, as well as Fehinti Balogun, César Vicente, and Kate Moran.[12] The film was shot in London,[13] and premiered at the2022 Cannes Film Festival on 22 May[13] before releasing exclusively onMubi on 8 September.[12]
According to the review aggregatorMetacritic,Hideous Bastard received "generally favorable reviews" based on aweighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 12 critic scores.[15]
[17]
