Emo Night at Dubrek Studios: Porcelain Girl’s ‘i hate you’ EP Launch Delivers Chaos, Release and Absolute Carnage

Derby’s grassroots scene continues to prove why it is one of the most vital in the UK right now, and on Saturday 18th April, ONECAB delivered one of the most intense nights of the year so far with a stacked emo bill at Dubrek Studios, headlined by Porcelain Girl for the launch of their highly anticipated i hate you EP, which TRENDNG had already spotlighted ahead of release.

With a reputation for packed, high-energy shows already building around Porcelain Girl, this night felt inevitable from the moment doors opened. By the time the headliners took to the stage, the room was rammed, the air thick, and the anticipation undeniable.

FISTPUMP Set the Tone with Controlled Chaos

Opening the night were Birmingham’s FISTPUMP, a band that insist they are not pop punk, and they are right, although flashes of it surface in their sound. What they deliver instead is a tightly woven blend of midwest emo, post-hardcore and subtle pop punk sensibilities that feels both intricate and explosive.

Twinkly, delicate guitar work sat alongside heavy, crushing riffs, while intricate fills threaded through songs with precision. Vocals shifted from melodic and soulful to full-throttle aggression, often within the same passage, giving their set a dynamic push and pull that kept the crowd locked in.

The dual interplay between frontman and lead guitar created moments of real harmony before everything snapped into heavier territory, a contrast that defined their performance. Samples played before tracks, including a standout nod to Regular Show, added that authentic midwest emo texture.

Their debut single Toyota Hellfire drops on 8th May 2026 across streaming platforms, and on the strength of this set, it is essential listening.

Sinker Ignite the Crowd into Frenzy

Next up, Derby’s own Sinker took things to another level. With an expanded lineup, including Tino and Rin on guitars and Nate stepping fully into lead vocal duties, their sound has evolved into something even more ferocious and commanding.

If FISTPUMP warmed the room, Sinker detonated it.

Launching straight into a barrage of emotionally charged skramz, the band delivered fast, aggressive tracks packed with intensity. The crowd surged instantly, with mosh pits opening and closing in waves across the packed floor.

Highlights included Albany Cranks, balancing melodic chord progressions with distorted, thrashing guitars, and Winter Ends ‘Spring Comes’, which built from a soft, spoken-word intro into absolute chaos, driven by intricate drumming and sharp tempo shifts. At one point, Nate threw himself into the pit mid-song before climbing back on stage to continue delivering raw, visceral vocals.

Catalyst showcased the band’s range, moving from clean passages into hardcore punk bursts and back into emotionally heavy climaxes.

For their closing moment, Sinker switched things up, with Nate picking up a guitar and Tino taking over lead vocals, delivering a powerful cover of Head in the Ceiling Fan by Title Fight. It turned into a full-room singalong and was the perfect way to bring an already explosive set to a close.

Sinker’s sound is dense, emotional and punishing, but also undeniably beautiful in its composition.

Mesa Verde Bring Melody and Muscle

Birmingham’s Mesa Verde followed, offering a slightly different angle on the night’s sound while maintaining the intensity.

Their dual vocal approach, with melodic singing from guitar and heavier screams from bass, created a layered dynamic that gave their songs real depth. Intricate guitar work and intelligent drumming anchored their performance, while pop punk grooves slipped in beneath the surface.

Tracks like Life Sentence showcased their melodic sensibility, while Tides leaned fully into emo territory, slow-building, dramatic and emotionally charged, before erupting into aggression that drew clear comparisons to My Chemical Romance in tone and delivery.

A broken guitar strap mid-set did little to slow them down, they paused briefly, fixed it, and went straight back into the set without losing momentum.

Mesa Verde delivered a tight, thoughtful performance that balanced melody with weight, rounding out the support acts with authority.

Porcelain Girl Turn Dubrek into a Pressure Cooker

By the time Porcelain Girl took to the stage, Dubrek was beyond capacity, bodies packed wall to wall, anticipation at its peak, the kind of atmosphere where you already know something special is about to happen.

Opening with Singing Along To Modern Baseball On Bonfire Night, with Tino now fronting the band, backed by Will on lead guitar, Jack on bass and Sam on drums, the room erupted instantly. It is one of their most accessible tracks, leaning heavily into pop punk energy, but live it becomes something else entirely, a full-body experience. The mosh pit that opened up was one of the biggest seen at Dubrek, and from that moment on, there was no slowing down. It was loud, chaotic, hot, packed and genuinely euphoric.

They followed with Ben Thatcher Died 4 R Zyns, a track that perfectly captures what makes Porcelain Girl so compelling. It begins with that intricate, twinkly guitar work that feels almost delicate, before snapping into a heavy, screamo-driven eruption. The tempo shifts, the drop into a slower, weightier section, and the guttural vocals all hit with force, and the crowd responded in kind, bodies moving instinctively with every change.

Black Ops II on the Xbox 360 came next, introduced with a shout about the accompanying music video that fans should be watching, and it felt like a true moment of connection between band and audience. The opening is melodic and almost nostalgic, but when it kicks in, the room transforms again, the pit tightening, voices rising, everyone locked into the same rhythm.

Sesame Street Beefs kept the momentum relentless. Fast, energetic, driven by sharp drum rolls and pounding bass, with those signature twinkly guitar leads cutting through the mix. Sam, fittingly, was wearing a Sesame Street Beefs T-shirt behind the kit, and the track landed as a full crowd-pleaser, necks snapping, bodies colliding, the energy refusing to dip for even a second.

A shift in tone came with Tony Blair Witch Project, one of the most striking tracks of the set. Slower, more atmospheric, almost ambient in its opening, it allowed the room to breathe, the crowd swaying rather than surging. But that calm was temporary. As the track built and built, Alex and Nate from Sinker joined the band on stage, and the song erupted into a wall of sound, crashing drums, heavy guitars and screamed vocals turning it into one of the most powerful moments of the night.

Polish Marlboro Golds brought things straight back into singalong territory, one of those tracks where the crowd does half the work for the band, while also delivering one of the standout guitar solos of the set, a moment of clarity within the chaos.

Introducing newer material, they shouted out Mesa Verde before launching into Kim Wexler, a beautifully structured track that leans into melody before building towards a heavier, emotionally charged finish. It showed another side of the band’s songwriting, and the crowd was fully with them.

Then came Me And My Gun, and one of the defining moments of the entire night. Fast, aggressive, with a chorus that sticks instantly, but it was the breakdown that changed everything. The band got the crowd to split down the middle of the room, creating a tense pause before the drop. When it hit, the two sides collided in a huge, perfectly timed surge of movement, a moment of pure release that summed up the night in a single instant.

After shouting out the rest of the bands on the bill, they closed with 75 Chevy Camaro Z28, dedicating it to Harrison. It was one final chance for the crowd to let everything go, a full-throttle closing track that sent the room into one last explosive frenzy, bodies crashing together, voices hoarse but still shouting every word.

The cheers that followed were immediate and relentless, and the calls for an encore were answered. They returned for one final run of Singing Along To Modern Baseball On Bonfire Night, giving the crowd exactly what they wanted, one last chance to sing, move and lose themselves before the night came to an end.

A Defining Night for Derby’s Emo Scene

This was more than just an EP launch. It was a statement.

From start to finish, the night showcased the strength of the UK emo and hardcore underground, with each band bringing something distinct while feeding into the same collective energy.

The turnout, the intensity, the connection between bands and crowd, it all pointed to something bigger happening in Derby right now.

And if there is one takeaway, it is simple: support these bands. Buy the merch, stream the music, go to the shows. Because nights like this do not happen without that support, and the level of talent on display proved that this scene is not just thriving, it is essential.

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