Tramps, Traitors and Little Devils is supposedly a benefit album. As the record is supposed to benefit the Drag City artists and label, I don’t see how that makes it a "benefit" record, per se, but that’s neither here nor there. The Drag City Super Session features a great ensemble of indie rockers: Bill Callahan of Smog, Edith Frost, Jim O'Rourke, Tara Key, the "Brothers Murphy" (of Chestnut Station) and the absolutely fabulous Scissor Girl herself, Azita Youseffi.

As the ensemble nature of this album would lead you to believe, there’s a kind of crazy quilt aesthetic at work here. While the album isn’t necessarily coherent, the songs live comfortably with each other. The collaboration is really successful; it makes sense, even when they jump from Texas twang to folk to more straight-up indie rock.

The subdued rock-guitar work of "Charley’s Girl" is a really cool backdrop to the full vocal chorus of "la la las." I like hearing Lou Reed songs sung by women, for some reason. "Leaving the Army", spotlighting Edith Frost’s haunted, sultry voice, is basically the essence of this album -- the compelling mix of a lot of talent with disparate musical voices. The song opens like a '60s folk tune on downers, then bridges into an awkward strings-n-reeds interlude, and then coalesces again around Frost’s vocal line. She has a beautiful voice; I want to go buy all of her records.

The great thing about Tramps, Traitors and Little Devils is that each time I listen to it, I have a new favorite song. I can choose from the ironic up-beat ditties about heartbreak ("Everyday"), the sad-bastardesque male monotone of "Nothing Rises To Meet Me", and for a new twist on an old favorite, the Black Sabbath cover is pretty cool.