New York-based Scots-punk band the
Rusty Nails were, like most New Yorkers, deeply and personally affected by the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. Their 2002 album
Vestiges (half of the proceeds are earmarked for the Red Cross) is a musical response to the event. The album opens with the mournful instrumental "Deep Dawn," in which a solo set of bagpipes is eventually joined by a slashing electric guitar and single, gunshot-like drumbeats. It's a powerful, impressionistic evocation of loss and regret; followed up by the cathartic fury of the whiplash-speed rocker "Old Soldier." The album continues in that reflective/aggressive vein for 35 minutes before concluding with the powerful "The Fountain," which incorporates a traditional jig in its clattering tune. Less mawkish than most 9/11 tributes,
Vestiges is a simple, emotional album of strong, sensitive tunes, and not coincidentally, the
Rusty Nails' best work.