10 Songs for the New Depression is the twenty-first studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released in July 2010 through Proper Records.

[2] The concept album was inspired by the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and Great Recession, and features Wainwright backed by his own banjo, guitar and ukulele performances.

Lyrical references throughout 10 Songs include economists Alan Greenspan, John Maynard Keynes and Paul Krugman, President Barack Obama, and the government program Car Allowance Rebate System (more commonly known as "cash for clunkers").

[11] The opening track, "Times Is Hard", features "bleak" lyrics about "nihilism [being] used as a tool to remedy social ills" sung to upbeat melodies.

[11][12] In the liner notes, Wainwright admitted that at the time the album was released he "remained relatively unscathed by the New Depression" but owned a house in Southern California that he was unable to sell.

[5][11] Wainwright wrote "Middle of the Night" a few years prior to the album's release in an attempt to "cheer [himself] up and also to purvey an optimistic point of view for a change".

[16][17] "Got a Ukulele" features Wainwright performing the titular instrument, which he believes was popular during the 1920s–1930s due to its ability to improve "one's mood and general outlook".

Robin Denselow of The Guardian awarded the album four of five stars and wrote that Wainwright's performance sounded as "easy-going and spontaneous" as it does at his live concerts.

[18] The Observer contributor Neil Spencer wrote that "while [Wainwright's] tone becomes shrill at times, his mix of nihilism and jauntiness (with ukulele) are finally uplifting.

[20] PopMatters's Alex Ramon preferred Wainwright's album Social Studies (1999), but considered 10 Songs to be "an enjoyable effort nonetheless", complimenting it for its simple approach.

10 Songs for the New Depression debuted and reached its peak position at number thirty-eight on the United Kingdom's Top Independent Albums chart the week of July 31, 2010.