Out of hibernation?

It appears that I haven't posted anything here since early January. My own fault as I got bored with writing about music and have been heavily concentrating on playing it. I'm also employed again--not that it means I have any money to speak of, but that my time is much more precious than it had been for months.
So I have a few things to get to and I'm gonna change up how I've been doing this (that is, if anybody is still paying attention). Whereas previously I was only posting about new albums being birthed, I'm now going to broaden this to include old stuff that I stumble upon in my search through musical family trees and through suggestions of friends.

I figure the best place to restart this whole deal is with a bunch of friends from the beautiful Mid-Hudson Valley (there's my full disclosure) who've just recorded a completely sick debut full length:

Rising Up Rising Down
Monster Crusher
Maple Leaf Underground Records

Poughkeepsie, NY-based RISING UP RISING DOWN lead off their debut with an "Anthem" for a sludgy new tomorrow. Impressive as this winding instrumental piece may be, it only signals half of what this band is capable of, because everything quickly turns to full-speed mathemadness! This is grind like all the others don't grind: incredibly low-end heavy, these three gentlemen don't like their mud to flow so slowly. They also write riffs to amuse and confuse whilst retaining memorability. You can (and you will) move to this, but only in short bursts because they've already moved on and you've gotta catch up. It takes fucking talent to write songs that turn from punishing to playful and back without losing bite. So no standing there and just bobbing yr skull, I don't care how high you are, you still gotta pay attention.

Monster Crusher was recorded a couple months back with Will Dandy at Dead Air Studios. He did a hell of a job, 'cos when these guys play live it's fucking loud and destructive (I think the album title is representative of the work as a whole), so to be able to capture it for the record is impressive. The album is short because the songs are short, but they've made every second of it count. Anyone who is bummed that Nasum is no more (and really, who isn't?), should get a hold of this, as RURD is legitimately a younger American cousin. I can't comment on their artwork or lyrics really (although I know there's a lot of relevant social commentary in there), because I got a special advance copy from them because we love each other, but if it's half as awesome as the music, then it will still be rad. Whatever, go check out their myspace page and see what the fuck I'm talking about.