SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LES MAZOETANS – DO YOUR BEST

LES MAZOETANS
DO YOUR BEST
FORBIDDEN PLACE RECORDS

Les Mazoetans is a band based in the Netherlands, and Do Your Best is their debut album, although they did release a seven-track mini album/EP in 2025, Merry Christmas from Hanoi. Together they make a very unique sound that has its basis in classic psychedelic rock mixed with punk, surf, garage, noise, and whatever else they decide to throw into the mix. The end result is Do Your Best, and it is a terrific album.

The album kicks off with the very short but powerful “Loserville,” which features some fine shouting, distortion, and feedback. It brings to mind early Wire, but here they are a bit more aggressive. It is worth noting that all but two songs on this album are under two minutes. They say and do a lot in a short time. There are no extended guitar solos, although the guitar track in tracks like “Alfalfa Romero” is incredible. Some songs, like “Le Vendeur d’UFO,” are under a minute. “Le Vendeur d’UFO” is a short but energetic instrumental. “Row My Boat” is even shorter, clocking in at 29 seconds. But, again, it leaves its mark and leads into the dramatic “Belinda” with the guitars replicating the sound of a submarine submerging. It breaks into chaos at the end and leaves one wondering what the hell is going on. It is noise, but it works on many levels.

Some of the songs on Do Your Best are not as noisy or chaotic. For example, “Motel of Shame” is somewhat reserved and has a gritty swamp-like quality to it. And the closing track of the album, “Cayenne, is much more of a straightforward rock song. It combines a number of genres, it is like those weird recipes that come together although all the parts suggest otherwise. What Les Mazoetans do so well in this song (and throughout the album) is create their own sound. The piano, for example, in this song should not work, and yet, the song is better for having it sparsely inserted.

Do Your Best is a fascinating album. There is a ton of experimentation going on throughout the album and mixing and melting together very different sounds throughout. The vocals, at times, sound a bit like Kurt Cobain (“Touchdown GG”), but the music is as far from Nirvana as it can be. “Magalodon” tips its synthesized hat to Captain Beefheart while digging into post punk. While things slow down with “Yonder,” it is more scary than relaxing. One gets the idea that although they take their craft seriously, Les Mazoetans are having a blast mixing and conjuring up this music. Or perhaps it is an elaborate joke on us all. Whatever their intentions are, this is a great album, full of surprises and one that I sincerely dig.

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