Little Hurricane blew in and out of San Diego like the force of nature they’re named after. Over the coarse of a single year, the two-piece burst onto the scene, quickly became one of the city’s most promising acts, won Best New Artist at the San Diego Music Awards, then moved away to roam the country like nomads.
That whirlwind romance has made Little Hurricane feel like the band that got away, but now the just-released Homewrecker has arrived like a love letter out of the blue. The ominous “Trouble Ahead” kicks off the album with a Kim Thayil-inspired riff chugging beneath Anthony Catalano’s seething vocals, but it isn’t long before the Soundgarden influence defers to a more prominent muse.
The similarities between Little Hurricane and The White Stripes are easy to spot and hard to ignore. Both are male/female blues-rock duos, and Catalano’s voice has that same choked power that gives Jack White’s delivery its visceral heft. But throughout Homewrecker, yet another point of comparison becomes apparent in Celeste Spina’s backups, which are sung with a ghostly airiness — first on the call and response of “Crocodile Tears” and then on the slow-burning “Shortbread” — that bears a striking resemblance to Meg White. In Little Hurricane’s live sets, Spina’s voice is barely audible above the crack of her drums, but on record the Meg-iness is unmistakeable. Continue reading…
