A YEAR of relative isolation will have profound effects on many for some time to come.

Everyone, everywhere, has had to endure hardship with the entire situation only twisting the knife into a worsening mental health crisis. For some, lockdown will have been only a sample of the experience many had faced long before covid struck.

Tom Vevers wrote his latest work with a weight upon his chest. The North Berwick man was facing his own issues, worsened by bereavement, and entrenched by the uncertain situation all around him.

His writing was a coping mechanism, and he recorded his songs in the hope that others would find a similar comfort. He will release his seven-track record Space and Time next month with only a hope of connecting with others on his mind.

He tells The Weekender: "This whole album was written during a time of real difficulty for me. I was struggling with my mental health and dealing with the loss of my friend and these songs were just cathartic for me.

"They provided an outlet for thoughts and feelings I was struggling to process or share myself. Considering the year that many of us have had, and how many people are going through a tough time themselves right now, a win for me would be someone listening to these songs and feeling a similar sense of relief that I did writing them.

"These songs are some of the most honest I have written and if anybody who is struggling themselves listens to them, feels understood and can relate in some way, that would be the best outcome for me. That's why I write music; to connect with people."

Vevers unveiled his single Always on My Mind recently and earned recognition from the likes of the BBC and Amazing Radio. It was fair departure from his previous output but the reaction so far has emboldened him.

"The response to the first single has been great," he says. "I think people were quite surprised to hear this new, grungier sound from me and even more surprised when I told them it was entirely self-produced.

"I've been working really hard to build my production skills and it's nice that people have noticed that in the finished product."

He adds: "I was quite nervous to let people hear the new stuff, partly because it does sound quite different to my previous releases but also because I've been working on it for well over a year now and am very attached to this album.

"Letting it out in the world was always going to be a nerve-racking experience."

With hints of Thom Yorke in his voice, and a few unexpected surprises in terms of instrumentation and concepts, Vevers' work stretches the bonds of familiarity without standing too far apart.

He experiments as most artists do and he is inclined to allow inspiration steer. In the end, the end result is surprising.

Vevers says: "Most of the time when I start a new song, I just put down a guitar and vocal track and go from there. Usually by the end, I'm as surprised as you are with where a song ends up.

"With this album, going for a fuller band sound, there was a lot more room for experimenting. For example, you've got songs like 2006 and Drown which use these electronic drums which aren't present on anything I've done before.

"I don't go in thinking I'll add that at the start, but I hear a particular sound in my head and will add whatever I can to match that. These songs didn't turn out how I expected they would and, hopefully, everyone else is pleasantly surprised too."

Space and Time will be released on Wednesday, May 26.