This weekend, we host Tough Cookie, Christian Music, Cruush, Fez and more at The Old Blue Last.
Tough Cookie by Jojo Williams | Words: Lloyd Bolton
This Saturday, 26th July, East London Block Party returns to Shoreditch, a day festival of some of the best cutting edge new artists spread among four great venues: Colours, The Old Blue Last, Strongroom and Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes. Having sold out both previous editions, the festival is looking bigger and better than ever for its 2025 edition, featuring HoH favourites like This Is The Deep, Y, Joyeria, Blood Wizard, Enjoyable Listens, Ash Kenazi and Vanity Fairy. We'll be taking over The Old Blue Last, where we play host to Tough Cookie, Christian Music, Cruush, Fez, World News and Cardboard, as well as a DJ set from Dream Wife to round off the night. Here's a quick guide of what to look out for at our stage.
Tough Cookie
Tough Cookie broke out with debut single 'Emory' in February this year, already drawing widespread acclaim and comparisons to Wolf Alice and Big Thief, the latter being the inspiration for their name. The band have a masterful command of dynamics, with expressive bursts of tubercular noise clashing with moments of fragmentary tenderness. 'Happiness' shows their ability to create anthemic singalong moments, while their latest single 'Sandcastles 2008' is a scuzzy slacker joy.
Christian Music
Obliteratively loud and barbed with sarcasm, Stoke group Christian Music bring a thunderous live show sure to be a highlight of the weekend and doubtless one of its loudest sets. The band's latest EP, 'European Tribunal', is a jittering sermon of 21st Century doom, squealing guitars and rumbling drums over screamed lyrics – "Breakfast time is over!" They swear allegiance to the film 'Blade: Trinity' ("Human feeling dulled by lifeless vampire effects and Wesley Snipes refusing to open his eyes – leading to a re-edit of the film's ending for home video release") and have collaborated closely with fellow Stoke experimentalists Formal Sppeedwear. We can't wait for them to bring their destructive set to the festival.
Cruuush
Unpredictable rhythms offset the seductive, float downstream ease of cruush's dreamy sound, making for a show that adds edge to the formula approached by Lush back in the day. The group's standout hit 'As She Grows' is a winding maze of fractal vocals over a pulsing rhythm, which across the live set gives the show a great drive.
Fez
Evocative of that blend of synth-pop, psych and indie that makes bands like Childhood, Hutch and Teleman so magical, Fez bring a rich, immersive sound to the stage. Latest single 'Best Friend' draws on the warped dreaminess synonymous with Tame Impala while 'Repetition', taken from the band's 2022 debut album, has more of a new wave burn to it.
World News
World News produce an epic, guitar-driven sound which they push in all sorts of different directions. Latest single 'Don't Want To Know' is suggestive of Eno's stadium productions with Talking Heads and U2, while elsewhere they play that massive guitar sound off against driving post-punk basslines, or delve into longer, kraut-style jams. It is a various sound that makes for an unpredictable and exciting live performance.
Cardboard
Cardboard channel the classic jangle rock format as a platform for compelling storytelling and toe-tapping tunes. Their songs are packed with smart guitar licks, and take on a grittier edge than most indie rock contemporaries thanks to heavy drums and growling lead vocals. The perfect way to kick off our day of music.
As the festival draws to a close, the Old Blue will be the place to be, as crowds from the other three venues descend for the Dream Wife DJ set, wrapping up a busy day of music with a cathartic dance party.
East London Block Party 2025 takes place on 26th July and the final remaining tickets are available here: https://link.dice.fm/rd474e3b2a52?dice_id=rd474e3b2a52
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