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From the perpetually down-on-its-luck, blue collar, rustbelt factory town of Flint, Michigan, comes new Fueled By Ramen signees The Swellers, a punk band that knows a thing or two about making hard, no-nonsense, but infinitely catchy music.

Following in the footsteps of other hard- Flintites who've made their name on the world stage—film provocateur Michael Moore, ’70s hard rock pioneers Grand Funk Railroad, ’80s grindcore/death-metal pioneers Repulsion, and the late rapper M.C. Breed—The Swellers have forged a hard-edged, yet accessible style of punk over the better part of a decade, the last three of which have been spent touring non-stop with the likes of Less Than Jake, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, A Wilhelm Scream and Streetlight Manifesto, among numerous others.

Now, with their Fueled By Ramen debut Ups and Downsizing the Flint-area four-piece manages to expound on the rollercoaster of life they’ve experienced on the road and in that perpetual hard-luck area just north of Detroit while expanding the poppy punk sound they've been honing since their mid-teens.

In true punk tradition, Ups and Downsizing is the outraged cry of a band that has seen its world on the precipice. It’s also the sound of a band that sees hope in the most hopeless of situations.

"Our last album My Everest was pretty pessimistic. It kind of had a negative view, it was a bummer but the music was uplifting," explains singer-guitarist Nick Diener, referring to their critically acclaimed first album, released in 2007. “This new one I'd say is expanded musically and lyrically. It’s got a certain ‘looking-up’ kind of feel to it. Here’s where it is now, it’ll just get better, but you’ve got to work for it.”

The title song was inspired by what’s been going on in Michigan long before the recession hit the rest of the country—dwindling jobs, people moving out of the state, a bleak future—and how it hit Diener and his drummer brother, Jonathan, at home after their father was laid off from an automotive-related job.

“My dad was working at two steel plants, working half a week in Detroit, then driving two hours to go to Grand Rapids and work there. He was working more than he should have, but he was still doing it,” says Jonathan.

Until the pink slip came. “We thought, ‘That’s us for once, not some random person at GM.’” Nick describes it as a kind of diaspora in the band’s home state. Many friends and family members have been pushed out of state for a multitude of reasons. Though the Diener brothers decided to stay in Michigan, their parents moved to North Carolina after dad landed a new job there. “It’s about ups and downs, taking off and moving somewhere else because you lost your job. Our parents, everyone’s parents, friends, and family in our state have had it rough. It’s hard to deal with but that's life,” Nick says. “It’s cool. Toward the end of the song you get the vibe that if you look at our parents’ example, they are much happier where they are now."

First single 'Fire Away,' with its catchy chorus of “abandon ship/fend for yourself/you’ve got that sinking feeling/and nothing else,” is about commitment and the loss and sense of betrayal that comes when someone close jumps overboard.

Even more powerful is 'Feet First,' a song about suicide inspired by the documentary The Bridge, which chronicles several suicide attempts from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The song’s title comes from the story of one jumper changed his mind on the way down and hit the water feet first, the safest way to hit the water. That jumper is alive and is now an advocate for anti-suicide. “It’s one of the most powerful songs on the record,” says Nick.

The Dieners started The Swellers as a trio in 2002. The group molded its sound—a cross between classic punk and ’90s rock—at the Vehicle City’s local music incubator, the legendary Flint Local 432, an all-ages, volunteer-supported club that also produced the band Chiodos.

After cutting their teeth at “The Local” for a few years, the band hit the road to support their first release, a 2005 EP entitled Beginning of The End Again on Ann Arbor label, Search and Rescue Records. The trek has not let up for more than a few weeks at a time, and yet the band still found time to write, record, and release My Everest.

“I think that was probably the best choice we ever made,” Jonathan says, noting that touring full-time not only made them better performers and writers, but afforded them eye-opening experiences they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

“We saw a pickup truck flip over and stopped to help the guy out, waited for EMS to come. We don’t know if he ever lived,” the drummer says. “We’ve played everywhere in the United States, and on top of that we’re meeting other bands in every city, making new friends every day, and living a bare minimum lifestyle. If the venue has peanut butter and jelly it’s the best day of your life.

“We signed to Fueled By Ramen because of our relentless touring schedule and hard work, sure, but we’re still sleeping on floors at buddies’ houses. My philosophy is: Do what makes sense. We tour because we’re not good at anything else. We love our songs and we want to play them all night and see our friends, so we go on tour."

That’s how they caught the ear of Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello (formerly of Fueled By Ramen, which he co-founded with John Janick), who released a limited edition 7-inch single of album track 'Welcome Back Riders' along with the Bret Hart-inspired b-side, 'Montreal Screwjob,' in late July on his new label, Paper + Plastick, in partnership with Fueled By Ramen. Paper + Plastick will also be releasing the vinyl for Ups and Downsizing.

With both of the original minds that birthed Fueled By Ramen in their stable, and resounding support from labelmates Paramore, it was just a matter of time before the team that gave us Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco and Gym Class Heroes would catch up with The Swellers.