wainwright began writing songs for the album following the inauguration of barack obama in january 2009. the album features ten original songs and two cover versions of songs originally written and recorded during the great depression. 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"). overall, critical reception of the album was positive. "10 songs" reached peak positions of number thirty-eight on the united kingdom's top independent albums chart and number twelve on the top 40 independent albums breakers chart.