To say emo is having a revival is either an understatement or a complete misnomer. It’s been over a decade since bands like The Hotelier, Pianos Become the Teeth, The World Is a Beautiful Place… and so many others turned to the sounds of emo’s Second Wave for inspiration, stealing the term away from the likes of Panic At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, and Hawthorne Heights. At this point, the “Emo Revival” has gone on twice as long as the original Second Wave.

And in this huge wave of bands pumping out great emo, CATERPILLARS has been hard at work since 2013, releasing swirling, powerful emo—without much notice. There are plenty of bands whose quality of output far outpaces their streaming numbers, but Frontier for the Fallen feels like the type of album that could bring them their well-deserved breakthrough.

I first became aware of CATERPILLARS through their 2020 release Where Shadows Go to Speak through Friend Club Records. It was a brilliant bit of emo paying homage to Elliot, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Mineral, and it had an energy so fresh and energy that I was surprised to find out it was their third record.

Frontier For the Fallen has all the same bits that made me fall in love with Shadows. Vocalist Chris Robinson’s melodies are moving, the arrangements are lush and haunting, and the production—courtesy of guitarist Eric Braun—is slick without feeling antiseptic. But from the moment “Puzzles” kicks in with beefy drums and guitar feedback, it’s clear that they’ve upped the ante this time around. The songs are as focused and immediate as anything they’ve done, without losing the beating heart that made their previous work so special. The guitar melodies are as sparkling and swirling as ever, but it feels they flex their muscles far more than before, showing themselves as muscular enough to go toe-to-toe with Stephen O’Sicky’s drums. The heavier guitar passages bring in shades of Thursday and other post-hardcore bands into their shimmering palette.

One of the major factors that make this feel like a step up is the variety of voices on the record. Besides Mineral frontman Chris Simpson singing a verse on “Satellites,” bassist Ben Love provides lead vocals on some of the tracks and had me scouring the press release for information on additional features. Robinson’s vocals are also often joined by a chorus of background vocals (maybe his own? Not entirely sure).

All of this is accompanied by an intricate sonic palette that includes crystalline acoustic guitars, plinking pianos, soaring strings, vocal samples, glitching electronics, and spacious atmospherics alongside the typical four-piece emo lineup. It’s also not flashy for flash’s sake, but it serves the songs well, augmenting the tracks instead of distracting from them.

In the end, Frontier For the Fallen honors its lineage in a fulfilling way. Where they have always been influenced by albums like Diary, Clarity, The Power of Failing, and False Cathedrals, this record feels like it’s taken the torch and is carrying it into the future.

Frontier For the Fallen is out May 6th through Friend Club Records.

Follow CATERPILLARS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Bandcamp.