Every now and then a debut single arrives that feels less like a calling card and more like a quiet confession set to strings. That’s the territory The Tortured Souls have staked out with “Unforgettable Days,” the poignant first offering from Perth singer-songwriter Justin Davies and his Australian pop rock collective — and Rolling Stone AU/NZ has officially taken notice.

After premiering the song’s music video as its “Video of the Week,” the magazine has now named “Unforgettable Days” one of its Best Australian Music of the Week picks for April 27th–May 3rd, calling it “a sweeping, piano-led introduction that leans into longing, memory, and the strange way certain moments in life refuse to fade.” High praise, but not undeserved. Soaring piano lines meet swelling strings and measured percussion, giving the track a cinematic lift that mirrors the heartache at its core.

Produced, mixed, and mastered by 2x GRAMMY-nominated producer/engineer Rob Grant (Tame Impala, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Death Cab for Cutie) at his Poons Head Studio on the West Coast of Australia, “Unforgettable Days” was tracked using vintage analog gear with serious pedigree — including the Pultec EQP-1A3 from the famed Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and a rare Fairchild 666 Tube Compressor once used at London’s De Lane Lea Studios on recordings by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd. The result is a sonic authenticity perfectly suited to Davies’ classic pop songcraft.

Backing Davies is a stellar Perth-based lineup featuring drummer Malcolm Clark and bassist Jay Cortez (both formerly of Aussie alt-rock heroes The Sleepy Jackson), plus members of the internationally acclaimed West Australian Symphony Orchestra. The official music video, filmed on location in Queensland, is streaming now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Tortured+Souls+Unforgettable+Days

“‘Unforgettable Days’ is about lost love, but maybe more importantly, the beauty and magic and foreverness that seems to surround you on certain days or at certain times in life,” Davies explains. “It is a song of longing and loss, but it makes me feel a sense of promise and hope and nostalgia. Life can be sad, but there are times when it is also uplifting and overwhelmingly beautiful.”

That hard-won perspective is the heart of the Tortured Souls origin story. The youngest member of a musical family that includes ARIA Award-winning composer Ashley Davies and singer-songwriter Tanya-Lee Davies, Justin spent much of his adult life as a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist in Western Australia, quietly carrying the weight of a loved one lost to a fatal overdose more than two decades ago. A chance encounter with “the most beautiful guitar I had ever seen” in a 2023 music shop visit cracked something open. Songs followed — naturally, intuitively, and in enough abundance to fill an album.

“Unforgettable Days” is the first taste of that deeply emotional full-length debut, due later this year. Davies will herald the upcoming LP with a support slot for Ron Sexsmith at Perth’s Rosemount Hotel, with additional dates to be announced.

“It’s time and meant to be,” Davies says. “Without the sadness and searching, I wouldn’t have found my peace within the songs. It’s not an incredibly intricate or overly complicated song, but it’s the best thing I have ever done.”

Press play, let the piano do its work, and see if you don’t feel a few of your own unforgettable days flicker back to life.