American guitarist and songwriter Wendy Eisenberg describes her free-improvising SQUANDERERS trio with fellow guitarist David Grubbs and bassist Bonner Kramer as «the most beautiful mermaid shit I’ve ever heard in my life». Bright Madness is SQUANDERERS’ third album, recorded in March 2025 in Kramer’s adopted hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, in one «glorious afternoon».

Eisenberg (on the right channel) works between genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs, and has collaborated with  Bill Orcutt and John Zorn. Grubbs (on the left channel) is known for his work with Gastr del Sol and Squirrel Bait. He has performed with Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros, Luc Ferrari, Susan Howe, and Will Oldham, and he is a scholar and writer. Kramer (on center) is also a filmmaker, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists as diverse as John Zorn, Butthole Surfers, Bill Frisell, Thurston Moore, and Allen Ginsberg, and he is the founder of the iconic NYC record label, Shimmy-Disc.

As on SQUANDERERS’ previous album, all the pieces are titled as “Theme for…” some surreal wishes, and all are instant, spontaneous compositions. The atmosphere is mostly serene and lyrical, and the nine pieces flow with a natural, almost effortless ease, gently exploring resonant, melodic themes embraced by subtle, distorted waves. Just listen to the haunting, meditative beauty of «Theme for the Casino at 5 A.M.», the enigmatic stories of «Theme for Femme-Presenting Hands» and «Theme for the World’s Consigliere», or the final, epic piece, «Theme for Nihologisms», which flies into mysterious deep space in a sacred mission to spread SQUANDERERS’ beautiful mermaid shit.

Eyal Hareuveni

Wendy Eisenberg (guitars), David Grubbs (guitars), Bonner Kramer (bass)