Alec Benjamin Overcomes Anxieties in Coming-of-Age Album (Un)Commentary : It 'Freed Me'

Matty Vogel Alec Benjamin

Alec Benjamin is "Older" now — and he's ready to share that side of himself with the world through his new music.

Though the pandemic wasn't an easy time for the "Let Me Down Slowly" singer, he's grateful for the time of reflection and his newfound perspective — something that's demonstrated in his second studio album (Un)Commentary, which dropped on Friday.

"I feel like the pandemic sucked, but one gift that I have is ... I'm a very anxious person and I'm always in my head. But, I feel like now, it's sort of freed me," Benjamin, 27, tells PEOPLE.

With that, the singer-songwriter felt inspired and decided to write about his perspective throughout the process.

Matty Vogel Alec Benjamin

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"The whole last two years have kind of blended together in a weird way. I feel like there hasn't really been very much," he says about the ongoing pandemic. "It also was an interesting time to people-watch. Obviously you couldn't be out so much in public, but from the comfort of your own home, you got to see society fall apart and then get put back together in real-time."

The album title is a play on words — "uncommon" and "commentary," he explains. "That's what this album is about. It's my commentary, or at least from my point of view, what a lot of those things meant to me."

In May 2020, The "Mind Is a Prison" singer opened up about his struggle with social media following the release of his debut album These Two Windows. Now, almost two years and a whole new album later — Benjamin says things have gotten better.

"I'm trying to establish a more healthy relationship with social media. I'm trying to just enjoy the positive aspects of it and come up with mechanisms that I can use to mitigate the negative impacts that it has on me. But, ultimately, I'm just trying to mature," he says about navigating his presence on social media.

"I feel like my relationship with social media is not just a product of the way the app was designed," he adds. "It's like at a certain point, if it's that bad, I can just turn it off, or I can just choose to not compare myself to other people and just use it for the positive things."

The 13-track album includes previously released singles "Shadow of Mine" and "Older," along with "Speakers" — and Benjamin hopes that it's something fans can look back on to associate with fond memories and "nostalgic" feelings.

RELATED: Alec Benjamin Releases New Song 'Six Feet Apart' About Social Distancing amid Coronavirus Crisis

To mark the release of his new album, Benjamin performed at Coachella on Sunday — and is set to hit the stage this weekend once again. The singer was on the 2020 lineup for the music festival before it was canceled due to COVID-19, and he's grateful he was asked to come back to fulfill a longtime goal.

"I feel really lucky that through the whole mess of things that happened, I'm still able to accomplish and fulfill one of my childhood dreams," he says. "I was like, 'I'm not going to Coachella unless I'm playing it.' And it's happening."

Once he wraps up his performances at the music festival, the singer will go back on tour across major cities in the United States, before kicking off the European leg in June.

(Un)Commentary is out now.