Dressed for the Occasion Luke Elliot

• 1Get 'Em While They're Hot04:54
• 2Trouble03:49
• 3Blue and Green04:36
• 4Dressed for the Occasion04:17
• 5This Gun of Mine04:15
• 6Let It Rain on Me03:45
• 7The Great Rondout Train Robbery05:09
• 8Reason to Believe03:55
• 9Handsome Man02:56
• 10People Like You04:00
• 11A Prayer for Saint Rita02:02
• Total Runtime43:38

Info for Dressed for the Occasion

Luke Elliot’s wonderful album Dressed for the Occasion dropped this past August and the singer/songwriter/pianist already has another collection of songs ready to record.

Dressed came together serendipitously. After playing a gig in Oslo, Norway, Elliot was approached by a seemingly random concertgoer, who asked if Elliot wanted to record an album in his studio. Elliot said, “I don’t have any money.” But the stranger answered, “I didn’t ask you that. I asked you if you want to make a record.”

Before long, Elliot found himself in a beautifully equipped studio called Athletic Sound in Halden, Norway, a couple of hours south of Oslo. And with the help of producer/engineer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile), Elliot and band made an impressive album that often echoes the gothic beauty and mystery of Nick Cave’s arrangements, but sung in a warmer tone.

With origins as a New Jersey rock and roller, Luke Elliot has steadily proven that he is a force to be reckoned with in an international musical landscape. His packed live performances, alluring voice, and evocative writing suggest that his presence is permanent.

"Dressed for the Occasion is a world of back-slapping, of handlers acting as friends, of transactional relationships, and deep mistrust of those who are supposed to be taking care of you. It’s a world where phrases like “Look this way,” “Here, take this,” and “Smile,” are thrown around like aimless salutations. It’s an album that – while sometimes unsettlingly dark – is held together by the Elliot’s keen self-awareness and sense of expression. As he sings of “The desire for what could be” on closer, “A Prayer for Saint Rita,” he leaves us with the line “Everything’s still hopeful now,” echoing a most human sentiment: optimism. Whole lives are disassembled. Houses are emptied out on the lawn. But Dressed for the Occasionultimately gives us hope. And Elliot does a great job convincing us that that alone is reason enough to keep listening."

Luke Elliot

Luke Elliot
Just over one year ago, Elliot was writing and playing his music live while working a sales job outside Princeton, New Jersey. In one year’s time, Luke’s life and musical career has taken a dramatic upward turn that now finds him looking out over crowds of more than 1,500 screaming fans in Oslo, Norway.

Elliot released his debut EP, Death of a Widow, through Yerbird Records in 2010. The EP gained him a dedicated fan base that followed him through a circuit of venues across the Northeastern United States. The music, comprised of an eclectic mix of genres and themes, gained him critical regional acclaim. Playing in New York's Lower East Side, Elliot and his band quickly made their way from the small bar scene to some of New York's more popular venues, from the Mercury Lounge to Webster Hall. He began headlining major Philadelphia venues such as North Star and World Cafe Live.

In early 2014, Luke met the U.S. correspondent for VG, the leading Norwegian daily newspaper. Eirik Mosveen, who was also once the editor of historic rock monthly BEAT, saw the promise in Elliot’s music and began spreading the word in Norway. A few months later, with his passport stamped and Shaub strapped in the seat next to him, Elliot headed to Norway for a six show club tour. Joining forces with some of Norway’s most seasoned musicians, Elliot has lured audiences with his lyric narratives of hope and loss.

While on this first tour, Luke had the good fortune of playing in front of Norwegian rock legend and critic, Knut Schreiner who is best known throughout the rock world as a key member of Norwegian band Turbonegro. Schreiner was so blown away by what he heard that he immediately wrote a passionate review of the show that quickly went viral. Schreiner said that he had not heard anything as striking as Elliot and his band in two decades.

Elliot is working to make that claim true. Working with Agnello in Halden at the Athletic Sound studio, Elliot has just completed Dressed for the Occassion. The album was mastered at Abbey Road in London. The signature single, “Trouble,” releases April 10th, and the full album is set to debut in September, 2015.

This album contains no booklet.