OLIVER SIM Vinyl & CDs

Review: Catharsis runs through the debut solo album from Oliver Sim, best known to most of us as the bassist-singer from The XX. A record that's about pulling back the curtain to reveal who he really is - surprising, considering The XX's output always felt heart-on-sleeve - even the vocal delivery feels more honest, less whispered, no longer hidden beneath effects and subtle textures.

Hideous Bastard is in many ways also less produced, more human. And by that we mean theatric, dramatic, packed with artistic ideas, and the feeling of someone coming of age to finally feel comfortable in their own skin letting us in. Inventive to the last, it's forward thinking alternative electronic-pop-rock-indie fare but, more significantly, it's an act of sharing - from his own HIV diagnosis at 17 (the first time he has publicly discussed the illness) to thoughts about the industry and society itself.