There's nothing Loudon Wainwright likes more than mixing gloom with humour – and the realisation he has now lived for longer than his father is the perfect excuse for a concept album about death. There are 14 new songs here, along with an exquisite ballad he wrote with Kate McGarrigle back in the 70s, all dealing with "death'n'decay". And it works, thanks to his bleak wit, his ability to match thoughtful lyrics against varied, mostly blues-based settings, and help from special guests. So the opening The Here & the Now is a cheerfully swinging condensed autobiography in which he's joined by his four children (Rufus and Martha Wainwright included, of course) and jazz guitarist John Scofield. Rufus appears on The Days That We Die, too, which includes a recitation written by Loudon's journalist dad, while on Double Lifetime, he's joined for a Woody Guthrie-style talking blues by the great veteran Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Best of all, there's an improbable duet with Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) on the bittersweet I Remember Sex. I can't imagine anyone else even attempting a song like that.