Music: Dr. Rendezvous

DR. RENDEZVOUS

Three years in, genre-bending local band "re-finding footing" but still open to new directions

the overall effect is quite different from your standard drop-D tuning sludge-fest.

The last time News 4U checked in on Dr. Rendezvous, one of the tri-state's most musically-ambitious bands, the four

Photos: Benji Koelling (@benko.creative) members were rehearsing in the front room of a north side home, powerfully blowing through a set of thrillingly chaotic songs at top volume - songs tapped for an upcoming EP that would fuse 90's rock and progressive rock with the force of metal and energy of punk. It was November of 2020 - smack dab in the middle of the pandemic - and everything, apart from the collapse of society, was looking up for this genre-bending group of extremely talented musicians. Or so it seemed. What followed, instead, was a lineup shake-up at the mic and, subsequently, a shelving of the recordings completed with local producer Steve Tyner - and, ultimately, a long stretch between live shows. But after drafting in a new vocalist last year, Dr. Rendezvous returned to the stage, testing out a Dru Harmes-fronted configuration at a couple of local gigs. As bassist Andrew Logan notes, "we were refinding our footing."

With Harmes' more aggressive style of singing, the band took the opportunity to branch out even more and explore a heavier sound. This approach resulted in the recent Tyner-recorded single "Harakiri/Jigai" - two and a half minutes of borderline death metal. And yet, with the signature tone of guitarist Josh Taleno - slightly phased and cleanly-distorted