When my brother told me he didn’t like M. Ward’s voice, and indeed went so far as to refer to it as “boring,” my reaction was mainly colored by bewilderment and vehement disagreement. I don’t always think the music I like is for everybody, but when it comes to the beautiful timbre of an M. Ward, the objective truth is on my side. Any assessment of Lisa Rieffel of Killola, on the other hand, is much more subjective. It’d be difficult to disagree with the opinion that her voice is obnoxious and contrived. My response in that situation would be, “give Joanna Newsom a listen, and then we’ll talk.” It’s probably true that male vocalists are generally given more license when it comes to singing, but with artists like Newsom, Regina Spektor, CocoRosie, and Sleigh Bells downright flourishing, it shouldn’t be too hard to push through an act like Killola. Lisa’s is definitely a voice you’ll love or hate, and the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Experiencing both reactions to the same track is fairly normal.

Aside from the vocals there’s really not much to gripe about here. You either dig it or you don’t. This brand of garage pop can come off a little over the top, but there’s some solid artistic intuition that lays the groundwork. As a largely DIY project and internet sharing friendly (even aggressive) foursome, Killola has developed a pretty solid fan base globally. Their downright generosity really makes one ponder the notion of making pop music for the masses.

The perplexing thing about this album is that while the first half is more fun initially, the second half will be what wins you over in the end. Take the obligatory (yet still enjoyable) cover of “Hey Mickey” as a mission statement. It’s bubble gum, for sure, but you gotta love the flavor. “She’s a Bitch,” “1-2-3-4” and (to a lesser extent) “I Wanna See Your Dick” are easily the standout tracks, and this is the case for two main reasons: Lisa’s balls…and also the synth, so I guess that’s three reasons. The tracks with synth, like those three as well as “Cracks in the Armor,” take the previous two albums’ Joan Jett meets X-Ray Spex recipe and sprinkle in a little Faint. Le voilà. It almost feels like art punk, but not so much in a stripped down and angular Pink Flag kind of way. We’ll settle on deliberate.

As “All of My Idols are Dead” from 2008’s I Am the Messer implies, Killola’s biggest weakness is getting stuck in the past. For those of you who read my Best Coast review, this is exactly the kind of sound I think Best Coast could/should have if weren’t for that laze gaze production. The introduction of modern noise into frankly redundant power punk really lands Let’s Get Associated a great deal beyond previous efforts. The other key to Killola’s success is surprisingly embodied in the balladry of “Nothing Man” sending the sound away from the Faint, past your Joan Jetts and a heck of a lot closer to The Chordettes…or dare I say The Pips (you’ve yet to earn the Gladys comparison, girl). This old fashioned delivery of such pithily satirical lines as “1-2-3-4/ So much fun to be a whore/ 5-6-7-8/ Inseminate! Inseminate!” really turns the corner for an already solid vehicle.

Aside from intriguing DIY tendencies, the other most noteworthy thing about this band is that Rieffel was one of the characters on the first six-ish episodes of King of Queens. Her mysterious disappearance from the show seems to have a few conflicting stories, but to me, the most believable is that she really just wasn’t interesting on the show. Her fault? Writers’ fault? Who can say. Whatever you believe, I think it’s pretty safe to assume her looks have opened a few doors (even if they maybe shouldn’t have been opened.) The good news is that, unlike Judy Winslow of Family Matters, being inexplicably and unceremoniously expunged from the cast did not send her into the always welcoming arms of porn. Instead she turned her looks and correlating sense of entitlement into punk-divahood. Good on ya.

Track List:
1. Mid-Day Rebel
2. Gimme, Gimme
3. Cracks In The Armor
4. Traffic
5. She's A Bitch
6. The Doctor And His Son
7. 1-2-3-4
8. San Fernando Rose
9. Nothing Man
10. I Wanna See Your Dick
11. Who We Think We Are
12. Hey Mickey (Toni Basil cover)