It was early 2018 when Hanson began to share cryptic messages asking ‘What is String Theory?’ through their official Twitter account. But the rumour of an orchestra project had been floating around a for a while - I had first heard about in Tulsa at Hanson Day 2017, when the band had dropped the information in front of a couple of fans with the calculated timing of a Soviet-style, well-oiled propaganda machine. It was clear that Hanson were preparing their fans for The Next Thing. String Theory is now here, in the form of a double album and an orchestral tour that has taken Hanson to several North American cities and that will reach Europe and Australia in early 2019. I haven’t been to a String Theory show yet, and prior to the album release, I had tried not to listen to too many clips from the US tour, so as not to totally spoil my enjoyment for the tour and to let the album’s new orchestral arrangements surprise me. Now that I’ve had this double album on heavy rotation for a fe...