HYPOTHETICAL

Hypothetical by Threshold is a landmark album for the band for several reasons. One is that it's the first time they ever had the same vocalist stick around for two consecutive studio albums, Andrew "Mac" McDermott having joined for Clone, and whilst I thought Mac hadn't yet eased into his role on that album I think he really stepped up his game here, dialling up the emotion considerably.

The other watershed moment is that this is the first studio album to feature Johanne James. Whilst prior to this Threshold had enjoyed a revolving cast of drummers to a similar degree as their vocalists, Johanne has stuck with the band to the present, and it's clear from here that he clicked with them right from the get-go. James had in fact filled in the drum stool position on the Extinct Instinct tour, sitting out the Clone sessions but becoming the band's official full-time drummer soon after that release, with the result that he'd had some years by this point to cement his position and really gel with the rest of the group, and on this album in general - and opening track Light And Space in particular - the material really showcases his abilities.

It's the combination of a vocalist and drummer being able to actually settle into the role long-term whilst the rest of the group continued to hone their own craft which helps push the band's sound to the next level on Hypothetical - and it's certainly timely, given the broader distribution and higher profile they received once graduating from Giant Eletric Pea (on which they'd released their previous albums) to InsideOut.