Kylesa's guitarist, Laura Pleasants, opted to carry on her musical exploration with heavily distorted psychedelic guitar sounds, yet chose a more simplified approach in composing her songs for her post-punk solo project, The Discussion.
Laura Pleasants' debut album with her current solo project, The Discussion, titled All the Pretty Flowers, is now available via Artoffact Records. The album, a departure from her swampy drop-G aesthetic, showcases a new approach to guitar playing for Pleasants, while maintaining the same chords and notes.
The lead song of the album, Fade Away, is driven by a brawny post-punk bass rhythm rather than the leanly-picked guitar spectrality typically associated with Pleasants' work. The track, set in a 'hollow house' and thematically exploring a sense of emptiness, has been well-received by critics and fans alike.
Producer Jason Corbett helped Pleasants hone her vision for the album. Known for her co-founding and work with the metal quartet Kylesa, Pleasants moved away from her guitar-heavy past for this project, opting instead for a more textural, string-scraping style on synth-oscillating pieces like Blue Light.
However, the album initially featured more guitar, which was pruned away during the recording process. Pleasants' guitar style on the album was inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees/Magazine guitarist John McGeoch and minimal wave music.
One of the album's standout tracks is In Death & Life, which was initially demoed with the EarthQuaker Devices' Life Pedal V3 boost/distortion pedal. The album version retains a wiry, string-stretching solo that Pleasants wanted to sound 'triumphant but not cheesy.'
Pleasants co-founded Kylesa in Savannah, Georgia, in the early '00s. While the return of Kylesa has given fans plenty to talk about, it is unclear if the reunion will yield any new metal music. Pleasants will spend 2025 playing Kylesa shows for the first time since 2015.
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For those who want to dive deeper into Pleasants' work, All the Pretty Flowers is a must-listen. With its unique blend of post-punk, minimal wave, and Pleasants' distinctive guitar style, it offers a fresh take on the genre that is sure to appeal to a wide audience.
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