Promise of Redemption is the side project of Shane Henderson of Valencia. As many regular PT-ers know, I’m a big, big Valencia fan and a big fan of Shane’s vocals. This record is the second as part of of his solo acoustic project and is inspired by the death of his girlfriend Dana Leigh Burrell who very sadly died. To help him cope with such a tragic loss Shane picked up his guitar and wrote a number of songs, many of which he intended to keep private. But in his own words he ‘figured one thing that helps people through hard times is music and maybe these songs will help someone else along the way cause they sure are helping me’.
The result is a very tender and loving record. Bittersweet because of the sad subject matter, but delicate and powerful at the same time. Valencia fans will enjoy this simply because of Shane’s distinctive vocals, but it reminds me of early Dashboard Confessional simply because of the power and emotion each song generates. ‘How Fast’ and ‘Oh The Way’ are fantastic songs – the latter actually reminds me of Third Eye Blind – while ‘Dana Leigh’ is just sublime. It’s such a sad and heartbreaking record, yet uplifting and hopeful at the same time. It’s one of the best records I’ve heard so far this year.