Sometimes it's unfortunate that a band that has been working for sixteen years, recorded several albums and toured the USA for three weeks​, still isn't able to make a living with their music. In case of ​a talented band that has a huge know-how in making modern day rock music, it's almost extra sad. Yet, French rock quartet Stereotypical Working Class isn't giving up. They just unleashed their new album 'Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining', proving that they should be world-class players in the alternative rock scene.

The album starts quite calm and soothing, but that only lasts for about five seconds. ​The band mixes present day punkrock, alternative metal and post-hardcore into something very energetic but listener friendly. With often contrarian rhythms and effective riffs, SWC ​has found a perfect sound between Sum41, Deftones, Tool, P.O.D., Evergrey and Incubus. The thirteen songs on this album are both melodic and energetic. 'Soon Enough' is an early highlight and definately one of my favo​urites.

The most striking element is the (alternative) 'radio friendliness' of the music. It's very powerful, often nudging towards the more extreme versions of the rock scene. The excellent melodic vocals of Martin add a sense of emotion, lifting the music to a very enjoyable level a​t​ any volume. I wouldn't even be surprised if these songs, or at least some of them, wor​k​ perfectly well in an acoustic setting.

'The Best That I Can', another highlight, is a pretty heavy rock song, combining the simplicity and aggression of punk rock with the the musical craftsmanship and melody of alternative metal. In 'A Song For Kepler' the tempo slows down, making room for outstanding songwriting and a touch of psychedelica. 'Your Own Way' is simply awesome, reminding me of a band like Calibre.​, but better and with a lot more power. With this one, headbanging is alo​wed, that's for sure.

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining was recorded and mixed by Fabrice Boy and mastered by Fred Kevorkian (Sonic Youth, The National, Drowning Pool). In all, it's clear that we're dealing with a very talented and experienced band. SWC strongly believes in themselves and their music and they're absolutely right to do so. With skills like this, it's about time these guys overtake and headline stages all over the globe. 'Perfect Frame' is another example of these skills.

I'd recommend listening to this album a few times. For some reason it all sounds very familiar and extremely modern. I'd also recommend SWC to re-release it and use English-written liner-notes to gain a bigger audience. This high quality music absolutely deserves a lot of exposure but these days the English language seems to be the medium to open those doors. But above all, SWC should just continue believing in themselves and keep on playing this stuff. This is some awesome rock music, period.

Serge