Some artists spend a lifetime chasing the sound Justin Davies stumbled into on a beach in northern Queensland with a cheap 3/4 travel guitar. The Perth, Australia-based singer-songwriter has just released “No Tomorrows,” the stirring second single from his project The Tortured Souls — and if his debut track “Unforgettable Days” was the opening salvo, this one is a full-on emotional broadside.

For those keeping score at home: “Unforgettable Days” quietly racked up more than 200,000 Spotify streams in the six weeks after its Australian release. Not bad for a guy who only picked up a guitar for the first time in 2023.

“No Tomorrows” rides in on a hypnotic groove, warm swells of Hammond organ, and vocal melodies that soar without ever showing off. It’s baroque-pop with the dust of classic rock still on its boots — a sound shepherded by two-time GRAMMY-nominated producer Rob Grant (Tame Impala, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Josh Homme) at the legendary Poons Head Studio on Australia’s west coast. Backing Davies is a serious lineup of Western Australian talent, including drummer Malcolm Clark, bassist Jay Cortez (formerly of The Sleepy Jackson), and members of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Where “Unforgettable Days” lingered in memory and longing, “No Tomorrows” plants both feet in the fragile now. “It’s about trying to hold onto the most important things in life before they disappear,” Davies explains. “Those moments where you know something is changing, maybe ending, and not wanting to lose those who are most precious to you now, before time catches up. There’s sadness in it, but also freedom.”

That duality — grief braided with release — is the through-line of the entire Tortured Souls project. After decades as a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist in Western Australia, Davies found himself pulled toward songwriting in the wake of losing a loved one. What started as a single guitar purchase became a torrent of songs, and eventually a full-length debut album due later this year.

The accompanying music video, directed by Patrick Pierce and Dara Munnis of Dead As Disco (Jimmy Barnes, The Paper Kites, The Cat Empire), splices live footage of The Tortured Souls tracking at Poons Head with shots of Davies wandering the empty late-night streets of Melbourne. “It represents me trying to find my way through a difficult time of being lost and alone,” he says. “The late night setting reflects the grittiness of the song. A no-nonsense visual to a no-nonsense song.”

Structurally, “No Tomorrows” is a slow burn built for the long drive home. “It starts off slow, with just vocal and Hammond,” Davies says, “but then slowly increases in intensity as the song progresses, until it is really quite charged up and on by the end.” Fans of Paul Kelly and Don Walker will find familiar bones here — confessional lyricism, soulful late-night rock energy, and the kind of classic pop craftsmanship that never really goes out of style.

With Dave Bruce’s recent Amplify interview digging into the production of the upcoming album and the videos for the first two singles, the runway to Justin Davies’ debut LP is officially lit. If “No Tomorrows” is any indication, it’s going to be worth the wait.

Stream “No Tomorrows” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/justindavies

Press play, roll the windows down, and let this one do its work.