TWO years have passed since the release of Psycho, with the expectation of a follow-up steadily swelling in the background.

Of course, every band and every artist wants to catch a break and to see their own creation become a beacon of success that opens new doors and new opportunity. But, then, what's next?

Billy Mitchell felt that weight as he prepared to drop his latest single, Know You Better. He had laid down a marker with the 2018 release and turn a few heads in doing so.

While he put out a four-track EP last year, this month's release would be the real test – would he be able to reach the same heights again as before?

"There was a pressure," he tells The Weekender. "Psycho was doing well, and it was getting me a lot of gigs, such as headlining at King Tut's. That seems to be the favourite and was the one a lot of folk wanted to hear live.

"And with it being two years, people are going to start thinking: 'Well, we've waited this long…it better be good'.

"I was confident, though. Know You Better has been going down well."

The space between releases was not exactly intentional – the singer was kept busy through various projects before he began to focus on his latest single.

"It's been far too long," he adds. "I was playing session guitar with Kyle Falconer for a wee while and was a bit distracted from my own stuff. I did do my EP with Assai Records, which had some new songs on it, but we kept those offline.

"So, there was a lot happening and the next thing I knew it was two years since I had released anything online."

The Dundee man has been writing songs for years but appears to have found a winning formula in terms of how he wants to sound and what his growing fanbase are after.

I just want people to hear the melody and want to sing along with the chorus. Or, even better, I hope they hate it and it gets stuck in their heads."

He takes from a range of influences, both modern and from the golden years to create something that is refreshing and familiar. Indeed, if George Harrison were still writing music today, it would sound a lot like Billy Mitchell.

"When I used to write songs, I tried to make it as cool or as complicated as possible – but less is more," the singer says. "No one is really listening to you to hear how well you can play.

"I just want people to hear the melody and want to sing along with the chorus. Or, even better, I hope they hate it and it gets stuck in their heads."

While Know You Better touches upon a rough period in Mitchell's life, it has elements of catharsis and recovery.

He adds: "Not all of my songs are about me or what I've been through. Some are about other people and I try to put myself in their shoes.

"And I always exaggerate; I'll put and arms and legs on it."

Mitchell took the decision to release the song at midnight on May 1 – something he had not done before.

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It was a surreal experience for him as he watched the numbers flood in over the course of the first few hours.

He says: "Over the last few years I had seen other bands doing that and I thought I'd give it go. I was just expecting me and a few pals to listen to it, but I was looking at the streams and a bunch of people had stayed up to listen to it and were tagging me – that was class.

"I didn't get much sleep and I just stayed up looking at the plays. It tells you how many people were listening at that minute and I was just like: 'Yes! Cool…'

"The reaction has been fantastic – looking at around 10,000 [plays] in the first week, which is great. Psycho's first week got about 1,000 plays and that's my highest. I think Know You Better will outshine that in a couple of months.

"It's just been amazing so far. But I definitely won't be waiting two years to release again."

The music scene in Scotland is absolutely banging...I'm amazed by it every time is just sit down and listen to Scottish bands."

Mitchell is one of the many emerging acts from the Scottish music scene. He has watched on with a sense of pride and as the likes of Lewis Capaldi and Gerry Cinnamon take over.

Encouraged, no doubt, by their exploits, Mitchell and his fellow artists have done no harm to their own chances of following suit.

"The music scene in Scotland is absolutely banging," he adds. "I'm amazed by it every time is just sit down and listen to Scottish bands.

"It says a lot when the biggest acts in the UK are these two wee guys from Scotland [Lewis Capaldi and Gerry Cinnamon].

"I've been listening to Scottish bands continually for the last few months. Since isolation kicked in, a lot have been going live and doing streams so there has been plenty to listen to.

"There's so much out there: Brownbear, The Snuts, Gerry's new album, Dylan [John Thomas], Club Beirut and Carly Connor.

"And earlier this month – May 1 – there was so many great new songs released at the same time. It was unbelievable."

For Mitchell, 2020 was to be a huge year – he was planning a handful of releases and a number of big shows before the coronavirus outbreak had stuck its claws into the country.

"We were hoping to be in recording pretty much now," he explains. "But, with lockdown, it's not happening.

"Everyone is in the same boat, I reckon. Unless they had another single already recorded."

He adds: "I want to do an album, and this was supposed to be the year. But it doesn't look likely. So I think we'll put that on pause for 2020. I've got the material for it, no doubt about that. There are around 20 songs that I'm confident with and I'd like to have around 10 tracks on the album.

"One of the main reasons to do an album is that I have a few songs there – great songs – that I know people will like but I couldn't really release them as singles. But I'm confident in them and I want folk to hear them."

Know You Better is available to stream online, with a lyric video now on YouTube.