This is an act to keep an eye on: Born Cages is an American alternative rock band formed in the New York City area.

Born Cages signed with Razor & Tie Records in early 2013 and are working on the debut studio album with producer Jon Kaplan. The album, titled "I'm Glad I'm Not Me", is expected to come out this Summer. Listen and download for free the first single "Don't Look Back" clicking on the image on the left.

The Taking is an alternative rock/electronic/dubstep band hailing from San Antonio, Texas. They already shared the stage with Platinum selling artists such as Three Days Grace, Evanescence and Seether.

After the release of their debut album, The Taking teamed up with acclaimed producer Jeff Blue (Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Hoobastank) and recorded a 4-track EP that came out last February. Stream this catchy stuff on SoundCloud now clicking on the cover on the left.

Last October I wrote about Stars In Stereo, a rock band from Los Angeles, influenced by U2, 30 Seconds To Mars, Foo Fighters and Daft Punk. In the last 12 months or so the group toured incessantly with The Used, Foxy Shazam, Hoobastank, Blue October, Flyleaf and Drowning Pool. As there's no rest for the wicked, Stars In Stereo are ready to hit the road again with Bullet For My Valentine, Young Guns and Halestorm starting next Friday.

But, most important, frontwoman Bec Hollcraft -a really accomplished singer- and her mates have recorded their self-titled debut album that will see the light of day tomorrow. It's a very good heavy rock record full of anthemic song with catchy hooks.

Stream some songs of the album and download an acoustic version of lead single "The Broken" for free heading over to Stars In Stereo's facebook page.

Black Lakes are one of my favourite indie rock groups from Down Under. The band comes from Sydney and consists of identical twin brothers Stephen (vocal, bass) and David (drums) Kelly, along with Brenton Freeman (guitar, synth) and Phil Shingles (guitar). They debuted last September with the EP "Only For The Woods", released independently as part of a double EP release with the second, "Trick Hotel" due for release on May 3, 2013.

Initially inspired by the classic Australian rock (The Church, Paul Kelly) and more recently the American Psych Alt-Country scene (The War On Drugs, My Morning Jacket), Black Lakes deliver a pioneering dive into the Indie Psych/West sound.

"Spit Shine Shoes" is the leading single of "Trick Hotel": watch the official video (the first for the band) clicking on the frame above, read a nice interview to video director Sam Egan here and download the single for free on SoundCloud now!

One of the best Australian albums of last year was "Black Rabbits", the seventh studio record by Lismore rockers Grinspoon.

The album, produced by Dave Schiffman (Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) was launched by the great single "Passerby". Another great song from the album is current single "Branded": watch the video, once again directed by Benn Jae, clicking on the frame on the left.

weChameleon's favourites Blue October have launched a PledgeMusic campaign to help fund their new album:

"As many of you may know, we have already begun work on our new album. You may also know that a couple years ago we left the "major label system" in the music industry and are now a fully independent band, working for ourselves and investing in ourselves.

That investment takes a good deal of time, effort and teamwork to make the album we want to make for you and release it globally. That’s why we’ve partnered with PledgeMusic to allow us all to work together in making and promoting our new album."

Read more about this campaign at the project's page clicking on the image above. And don't forget to make your pledge!

Last March 18 English alternative rock band Suede released, under mostly favorable reviews, their new studio album "Bloodsports", the first album of new material released by the group since 2002's "A New Morning".

The new record, produced by Ed Buller -who produced Suede's first three albums- and released through Warner Music Group, features lead single "It Starts And Ends With You": watch the video clicking on the image on the left.

"Bloodsports" debuted on the Official UK Albums Chart at number 10, making it the group's first top 10 record since "Head Music" in 1999.

This is what frontman Brett Anderson had to say about the new release: ""Bloodsports" sounds like a cross between "Dog Man Star" and "Coming Up"... it's about lust, it's about the chase, it's about the endless carnal game of love. It was possibly the hardest we've ever made but certainly the most satisfying."

This is a more than welcome comeback: ten years after their last studio album "Joyride", Sacramento based rockers Oleander will release "Something Beautiful", their brand new full-length record, on April 16 trhough Re_Ignite Records.

"We're coming back to this crazy industry, presenting a new record and it's so unattractive to us to consider trying to compete with younger guys, better looking guys, harder rocking guys. We're just a group of friends that happen to enjoy making music together and have a platform for releasing it. It's not about the ego" says frontman Thomas Flowers about the return of his band.

Watch the video for the single and titletrack of the album "Something Beautiful", shot in Los Angeles and directed by Daniel Karp, clicking on the image above.