Saturday Night at the Howff with Anna McLuckie, Stanley Odd and The Micro Band

howff /haʊf/. A favourite meeting place or haunt, especially a pub.

The Howff is Bella’s Boozer, your virtual lounge for the lockdown. Every week we bring you new releases and recommendations for your listening pleasure. This week we bring you new tracks from Anna McLuckie, Stanley Odd and The Micro Band.

Anna McLuckie, esteemed harpist and singer-songwriter with a voice like birdsong has just released a thing of beauty – a debut album, named ‘Today, Everyday’. The album plays like a poetry collection, lovingly accompanied by artwork and animation from Luca Shaw. The entire album can be found on Spotify and Bandcamp.

You can hear more from Anna and support her work at her Bandcamp here.

Scottish hip-hop anti-heroes Stanley Odd have just released their latest single – a song of praise for the unnamed female rebels and freedom fighters, ‘The Invisible Woman’. Since July last year, Stanley Odd have been dropping a brand new track every six weeks – each one as lyrically and sonically diverse as the next. On ‘The Invisible Woman’, the band’s vocalist Veronika Electronika showcases her MC skills alongside frontman Solareye, with such inherent eloquence as… “Marched for peace. Spoke for the silence. Calm like a bomb. Met violence with violence. Only constant: the fires in her eyes for change. Try telling this woman to behave.” The band’s forthcoming album will be released in spring. 

You can hear more from Stanley Odd and support their work at their Bandcamp here.

Possibly the best song ever written about passing out in a shopping centre frozen food aisle, The Micro Band (confusingly comprised of no less than seven members) have just released the invigorating ‘Bridge of Eden’ on their brand new DIY record label New Teeth. It is Leith’s vibrant community of artists and musicians, and not a specific genre, that is at the heart of New Teeth’s philosophy. This indie label aims to support and nurture the local scene and venues, a grassroots ambition that is very much needed right now. ‘Bridge of Eden’ is an excellent initial release and an interesting sonic shift for the band.

You can hear more from The Micro Band and support their work at their Bandcamp here.