''The Bells Line'' is the third album by Australian rock band

78 Saab 78 Saab were a rock band from Australia that consisted of Ben Nash (vocals and guitar), Jake Andrews (guitar and vocals), Garth Tregillgas (bass and vocals) and Nicholai Danko (drums and percussion). The band has stated that it was influenced ...

. It was released in 2007. The three-year gap between albums was described in one newspaper story"Saab Hit the Road to Fame", ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', October 26, 2007 as a source of consternation for the band: "Nash says it stems from a combination of laziness and the need to juggle day jobs to pay the rent." The album's chief inspiration was described as coming from songwriter Ben Nash's four-hour commute between his childhood home, his parents' farm in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 Estimated resident population, ...

and his

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

base. The Bells Line is the name of the road that leads from Richmond in Sydney's west through the Blue Mountains, the route Nash would take going home. The album's opening song, "Sleepless Nights", begins with the line, "Up on the Bells Line, we disappear ..." "That came to me as I was driving with my wife just on twilight on a cold winter's night," Nash told the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald ...

''. "A lot of ideas come to me when I'm driving, and I like the way subconscious thoughts materialise that way.""Bell Boys Take the Rustic Route",

, October 24, 2007. The band rehearsed for the album in an old church hall near the Nash family property before joining producer

Wayne Connolly Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian musician, record producer and audio engineer. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly provided lead guitar and vocals in guitar pop group the Welcome Mat, with whom he released two studio albums. In 1994, he formed Knie ...

in the studio. "We froze our arse off. It was the middle of winter, but it was a productive time. A lot of ideas were thrown around," Nash said.

Track listing

(all tracks by

) # "Sleepless Nights" – 3:38 # "Drive" – 4:00 # "One of These Days" – 3:42 # "Needle in the Hay" – 4:20 # "Messed Up" – 4:18 # "Lean on In" – 3:42 # "Kandahar" – 5:15 # "Haul Away" – 3:06 # "Nothing as It Seems" – 4:10 # "Sleepyhead" – 4:58

Personnel

* Jake Andrews – guitars, keyboards, vocals * Nicholai Danko – drums, percussion * Ben Nash – vocals, guitar * Garth Tregillgas – bass

Additional musicians

* Tim Kevin – piano ("Nothing As It Seems") *

Jim Moginie James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter. Career In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has work ...

– keyboards ("Kandahar", "Sleepyhead"), guitar ("Sleephead") * Jason Walker – pedal steel ("Sleepless Nights", "Lean On In", "Haul Away")

References

2007 albums 78 Saab albums Ivy League Records albums {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub