Bag of Cans are a quintet weaving through the musical ranks on a sound described as “a gloriously surreal mix of old school indie, Weimar Berlin cabaret and Kinks circa Village Green Preservation Society.” Birthed from the effervescent swamp that is Norwich’s music scene in 2017, the band has garnered a reputation as one of the must-see bands in East Anglia with invariably hectic live shows. Sinewy guitar lines glide between a relentless rhythm section and a penchant for indie-pop vocal harmonies.
Even though the band employs the freedom the birds must feel with their ability to take flight, attempting to pigeonhole Bag of Cans is a fool’s errand. On their new single, “Favourite Shirt,” the band spins you around in a firework show of their many talents. The way the single warps from modern post-punk to horn-driven moments of catchy pop shows off the vocalist’s acrobatic vocals. At the same time, the ever-evolving instrumentation tells a similar tale. “Favourite Shirt” feels like an exercise in the band’s songwriting abilities as they test the limits of an average song length by attempting to pack a kaleidoscope of influences and emotions into one four-minute endeavor. The experimentation was a success. Bag of Cans captured their sprawling approach to music by allowing their lofty visions to bleed into one another for a hypnotic and catchy performance that proves the band’s limitless potential and palpable chemistry.
